Not yet
by CarrieBlanc
Summary: The war with Voldemort continues to the best, until one memorable afternoon in June 1981,a mysterious stranger saves Sirius Black and the Prewett Twins from the Death Eaters ambush. The stranger's farewell words direct the young Black's life to a thorny path from which there will be no return. How will Sirius manage the roles he chose but never wanted? Who is the powerful witch?
1. Prolog 1- Preaching the End of the World

"_There will be no commitment and no confessions_

_And no little secrets to keep_

_No little children or houses with roses_

_Just the End of the world and me_

_'Cause all has been gone and all has been done_

_And there's nothing left for us to say_

_But we could be together as they blow it all away_

_And we can share in every moment as it breaks_"

Chris Cornell- Preaching the End of the World

* * *

**24 June 1981**

Sirius Black often suspected that he was born under an unlucky star.

Of course; his friends often called him a 'lucky dog' (pun mostly intended). But in retrospect it was always someone else who got really lucky.

Regulus was the favourite son, Remus was the best pupil, James got the girl of his dreams, Peter ate as much as he wanted and did not gain weight.

He was considered talented but lazy, handsome but too vain. He was successful among men and women but he was unlucky in love. He had a rich family with connections but they were a bunch of sick blood purists.

All in all, Sirius Black was just lucky to be alive.

Right at that exact moment Sirius cursed his unlucky star, quite convinced he was going to die along the Prewett brothers. There were three of them versus fifteen Death Eaters and far too many murderous spells passed them at a distance which according to his personal classification was in the category of "too close".

They were huddled up in a dead-end alley, from time to time peeking into the street to check for the masked wizards. They've lost them between narrow, dusty alleyways of a small village of Cottesbrooke. The alley smelled like piss and trashcans left too long in the searing June sun.

Sirius, using his sleeve, wiped sweat of his forehead while trying feverishly help Gideon with the big bloody gash he had in his calf from a slicing charm. He knew it was a futile effort; the redhead wouldn't likely go anywhere with his muscles sliced in half.

They were trapped; anti-apparition wards cast by the Death Eaters probably reached far beyond the boundaries of the village. Gideon couldn't run and even if, the chances for them to escape without anyone noticing where slim.

"Sirius, you must go." he looked up from Gideon blood-soaked flesh at Fabian who looked at him with a strange fire within his blue eyes. He looked almost identical to his brother; the only thing that made him distinguishable was that he sported a long fiery-red beard plaited in a braid that ended somewhere around his navel. Gideon had an equally red moustache with ends curled upwards.

"I'm not leaving you."

"You're the only one of us who is able to sneak out of this shithole and get help." Sirius opened his mouth to protest again but Gideon breathed through clenched teeth:

"Don't you even try to argue...Padfoot...just go!"

Sirius huffed and snarled at them trying to keep his voice quiet:

"Then what? I will leave and when the help arrives you two will be dead. I'm not leaving you; we're leaving together or we're going down together."

Suddenly they heard a loud cackle, laughter and whistles, and sounds of feet and robes shuffling along the dirt road. Fabian and Sirius exchanged a quick glance and stood beside arm in arm shielding Gideon still slumped beside the alleyway wall.

_Well, this is it._ Sirius thought. _At least I will die fighting._

Then his thought drifted to James, Lily and Harry confined in the Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow. He thought about the long package in a colourful present paper with a snitch pattern, stored under his bed; Harry's first birthday present. Lily will be fuming at him for getting a one-year-old a broom. But, oh, how it will be worth it. He never considered any children of his own, always thought that he wouldn't even like any of these screaming spawns. But as usual, the Potters broken down every last of his walls and he simply loved Harry from the moment he firstly held him in his arms.

Son of his friends, his godson.

He felt his eyes getting wet when he realised that he will never find out what kind of person Harry will grow up to be; all these years will just pass by and 'Uncle Sirius' will be only a fond memory to share over a holiday shot of Firewhisky. But they will survive. They have to. That's what matters the most.

James is going to be so mad at him for getting killed...

The cackling and howling grew louder and he felt Fabian tense beside him; none of them felt ready to die that day. But did anyone ever feel ready for it?

He heard Gideon try without much of a success stand up behind them but he didn't turn to check on him, his eyes glued to the exit of the alley, his extended hand clutching his wand.

And then suddenly, the sounds of ominous cheering turned into ones of horror and they heard a cacophony of panicked screams outside of their hiding place. He and Fabian glanced at each other lifting eyebrows questioningly.

They peeked carefully from the alley and saw a group of six Death Eaters throwing spells and curses blindly trying to fend off something resembling grey smoke. The smoke wrapped itself around one of the Death Eaters tightly causing him shout horribly and try to pry off the foreign thing from his neck and shoulders. In the struggle he lost his mask and Sirius recognised Antonin Dolohov, screeching and cursing.

"Crucio! Crucio! Avada Kedavra!" the deadly curse ricochet of façade of one of the shops along the street and hit another Death Eater right in the back; he was dead before he faceplanted to the ground.

Sirius glanced at Fabian and saw him supporting Gideon on his arm and looking at the whole ordeal with slacked jaws; the sight was so peculiar that if it wasn't so dangerous it could be a part of a slapstick comedy.

Then they all heard a loud crack and silence. Sirius felt a strange pang in his guts when he looked at Dolohov now lying on the dirt road dead; the loud crack was his neck being broken with so much force that his whole head looked the other direction than it naturally should.

Above him stood a woman in a fitting catsuit from something that from afar looked like very strange dragon-hide plates. Her skin was in a golden-brown shade that made her look surreal in the searing summer sunlight. She had thick, dark curly hair gathered on top of her head in a messy knot. Half of her face from her neck to the bridge of her nose was covered with a black mask matching somehow the rest of her armour. She looked petite and definitely not like someone strong enough to break an adult man's neck.

She looked around, her amber eyes meeting each of the remaining Death Eaters, then the twins, and lastly Sirius. When their eyes met, he felt a shiver running down his spine; she had the eyes of someone who went through hell and back.

"You bitch!" one of the Death Eaters broke the silence with a high pitched vail yanking his wand up.

Sirius reacted like automatically and before the dark wizard could utter a word, he aimed his wand and shouted:

"Stupefy!"

The Death Eater went down limply and then few things happened quickly at the same time.

The remaining three dark wizards looked around in panic. Fabian stunned one of them before he managed to even blink. The girl suddenly evaporated and the grey smoke from before wrapped itself again around another Death Eater causing him to squeak like a rubber toy only to go silent and slump lifelessly onto the ground.

The third dark wizard started to run losing his mask along the way; Sirius to his shock recognised Barty Crouch Junior. Before he got away even fifty feet the girl was standing again beside the last victim of the grey smoke with her wand extended.

"Avis!" An angry-looking flock of crow fired at the end of her wand in a cloud of black feathers. "Oppugno!" the crows caught the escaping man mercilessly pecking and catching with claws. Crouch fell, shouting and covering his face before the attack, but after a while his scream turned into a sickening gurgle as the birds got to his throat.

And once again there was silence disturbed only by Gideons ragged breathing and wet sound of flesh being parted by sharp beaks.

The girl turned slowly to them; Fabian trying to hold his brother upright while still pointing his wand at her, Sirius still in his fighting stance, his grey eyes never leaving the strange witch. Her big, bright amber eyes where fixed on Sirius's wand.

"Who are you?" Gideon rasped weakly. She didn't answer, she didn't even acknowledge the question.

"We would like to thank our saviour, but not before we are sure that she's not here to kill us either." Sirius quipped cynically.

A faint chuckle escaped the stranger; the corner of her eye wrinkling slightly and the apple of her cheeks rising in a smile hid behind her mask.

"We're on the same side, that I can assure you, Sirius Black." she had a very prominent American accent.

He felt all his muscles tense up and the hair on his neck stand up. He curled his upper lip and growled in a very canine-like manner:

"Do I know you?"

"Not yet." she chuckled and raised her wand with such speed they didn't have a chance to react. "Petrificus Totalus Tria!"

Sirius felt his whole body went stiff as a board and his back hit the dusty road. He heard Fabian and Gideon share the same faith as him.

_Great. So I'm going to die anyway._

He heard footsteps on and saw a pair of amber eyes above him. He could get a better look at the witch, or at least part of her face that were visible.

Her eyes were big, framed with long, black lashes and her brows were defined, elegantly arched above them. The curve of her cheekbones and bridge of her nose were dusted with pale freckles only tone or two darker than her complexion.

Sirius weakly thought that he easily could fall in love with these eyes.

"I'm not your enemy. Never was and never will be. But be careful; there are rats among you. They will tear you to pieces if you are not careful. Remember: think before you act. Especially in the next few months." she spoke very quietly like she wished only for him to hear her. She touched his cheek and brushed the hair from his forehead with a gentle gesture. "I'm going to get rid of the rest of them. See you around Sirius Black... or maybe as I will call you...Lord Black?"

And with that she was gone.

Sirius laid there with the Prewett twins for another thirty minutes before Alastor Moody and a whole Auror platoon raided the place and lifted the spell holding them down.

All in all, Sirius Black was just lucky to be alive...

•••

Over the months following this incident, Sirius Black began to worry his friends with his unusual behaviour.

He became obsessed with the strange witch. He read all reports from the Auror assault group. He read the witness statements, he looked for press coverage of strange encounters. He practically glued himself to Moody discussing every possible theory about the dangerous stranger.

The living room in his and Remus's flat started to resemble Moody's office with photos, files, press snippets, hand-written notes scattered around and glued to the walls.

Moody first welcomed the change in behaviour in young Black. But soon enough he became worried himself; both for the obsessive behaviour of the rookie Auror and for the consequences of the appearance of someone so powerful whose affiliation was not so clear.

Admittedly, when the McKinnons miraculously escaped death from hands of Death Eaters, warned by a mysterious bird-like patronus who spoke in a female voice with a distinctly foreign accent, Moody felt the glow of hope.

The same was when Edgars Bones wife and daughters escaped their burning manor with an inch of their life allegedly led out by a cloud of silvery smoke. Poor Edgar perished that night fighting off the Death Eaters gathered around the burning manor. When Ms. Bones and the girls managed to get out it was too late; Edgars body laid on the front lawn, the Dark Mark casting an ominous green glow from above.

**4 September 1981**

The last straw was broken when Lucius Malfoy came to the Auror Headquarters and demanded to be incarcerated for his crimes against magical community. Sturgis Podmore, who was doing the paperwork that day at the reception, laughed at Lucius for a good five minutes, until the latter roll up the sleeve of his tailor-made robe with an exalted gesture, revealing the dark mark burned into the skin of his forearm.

Moody, who was just coming back from lunch with Kingsley Shacklebolt, saw the moment Malfoy rolled up his sleeve. And as soon as he saw the dark sign, with a shout worthy of a wild Amazon, he threw himself at Lucius, tackling him to the ground. For lack of a better idea, Sturgis Podmore followed in the footsteps of his boss, tailed then by a few more members of the elite unit which was the Aurors.

When Sirius entered the lobby of the Auror Headquarters with a copy of the Daily Prophet and a cup of quite decent takeaway coffee from Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, he saw a pile of six Aurors with Emmeline Vance on top sitting on the rest with legs elegantly folded on each other and a beaming smile. Kingsley stood beside all of this with a look somewhere between amusement and embarrassment.

"Lucius Malfoy surrendered himself as a Death Eater!" Emmeline looked pleased almost as she personally put handcuffs on the dark wizard.

Only when she said that Sirius noticed the platinum hair and the famous stick with the head of the snake instead of the knob protruding from the tangled limbs and robes.

"Maybe you should let him breathe? It would be such a shame for him to suffocate before we can throw him into the Azkaban..."

**31 September 1981**

Sirius insisted that he could take all these strange cases and visit all the sittings.

"Alastor, she's on our side! If we could only find her, we could win this war within days."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Black." Moody growled.

"She made more progress in three months than we did in 3 years!"

"Do you think that I don't know that?! That's what's so dangerous about all of this!" Moody threw his quill on his desk and looked over the younger man noting with worry that he lost weight and that his skin had an unhealthy tone to it. "Black, I see that her involvement is like a wish come true for us right now. And it makes me all that more suspicious. We could be dealing with a powerful ally or with another dark witch, but only this time a one who is after Voldemort...for now. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody suddenly hit his desk with his hand; the ink bottle fell over and spilled its contents onto the documents and a piece of old Auror's sleeve.

Sirius tightened his lips feeling the growing frustration. He did not tell anyone about what the stranger had told him before she disappeared, most likely to continue massacring the Death Eaters. He felt that it was intended only for him, that it was a clue, something that would lead him... just for what?

"Black...listen." Moody sounded serious but there was also a strange parental tone to his voice. "We interrogated Malfoy. And when we asked why he surrendered himself, he started shaking and crying like a little girl. He begged us to throw him into Azkaban and hide his family. Before she gets mad, he said." Brown beady eyes met wide grey ones. "He did not say anything more about her. Even when we asked directly, he only said that we could ask for anything but this. Then he sang a few significant names..."

"I honestly was not surprised when you arrested Bella, Rodolphus and Rabastan. I guess I can only say 'I told you so?'" he said with a cheeky grin. Moody only grumbled something about 'evidence'.

"Your cousin at least didn't try to blow off my face. If Rosier had any better of an aim I would end up without a nose!" he reached for his mug and made a sound of dissatisfaction when it turned empty. "I want you to take a few days off. Let Lupin take care of you. DO NOT SIT ON THIS FUCKING CASE. You hear me?" Sirius nodded only knowing that he had to back up this time. Right now, it was like the whole Order ganged up on him, trying to get him to relax in the slightest.

He was exhausted. This war depleted him, paranoia made him unable to think rationally and always set him on brink of an outburst; he had an argument this morning with Remus about some total nonsense...

He felt as if their relationship was slowly dying. They were still friends but their intimacy actually ended only on this.

He loved Remus.

But lastly felt that something in him was in constant tension and was just waiting for some tragedy to break. Despite the fact that the scale of victory was going towards them, Sirius felt that this was not the end. That something horrible was waiting on the horizon, something that would scar them all.

**13 October 1981**

Sirius returned late that evening; he, the Prewett brothers and Emmeline Vance were looking for Benjy Fenwick. Contact with him broke off the previous day when he was sent on a reconnaissance near Shillingford St. George where probably one of many safe houses for Death Eaters was.

•••

It was a relatively simple task, especially since Benjy had an invisibility cloak with him. All he had to do was check if there were any suspicious units near the house that was supposedly occupied by dark wizards.

Nothing difficult, right?

They did not find Benjy. At least they did not find anything that looked like Benjy.

After searching the forest around the building that was assigned to observe, they decided to take a chance and check the house itself. It was a simple hut in the middle of an overgrown field; definitely no one cared for this patch of land for years.

It was dusk when they finally got inside.

The inside looked abandoned; the pale light from their wands cast long shadows on the peeling wallpaper. The ominous feeling lingered in those walls and Sirius felt the hair on his neck stand up. His canine instincts told him that something's wrong. The cottage inside was almost empty; there were only a few broken chairs and pieces of broken dishes mixed with dust and leaves lying on the floor of the main room.

He smelled it before they saw it.

Among all this, in the center of the room was a red, bloody puddle.

The puddle was not uniform as if it consisted of only blood. Texture resembled minced meat.

Emmeline, seeing this, ran out of the hut. After a moment, they heard the sounds of vomiting. Gideon, green on the face, followed her. Sirius swallowed loudly; he felt his stomach go up to his throat. He looked at Fabian; the redhead was pale and sweaty, he looked like he was about to pass out.

Sirius gathered in himself and turned back to the puddle to examine it.

There was something strange about it. He lowered his wand to light the spot a little better

There was no splash; it had a perfectly round shape.

"They trapped him..."

Fabian pulled out a linen handkerchief from his robe pocket and put it on his mouth and nose before he came over.

"Merlin...there's his wand..."

And indeed, in the bloody mash there were broken pieces of wood connected with something that was probably the core of the wand.

Sirius, trying to watch all the pieces of Benjy's wand, came across a strange shape in this mass. It was round, milky-white with a spec of blue and black in the middle...

When he realized what exactly he was looking at, he ran out of the hut and got rid of all the contents of his stomach.

•••

They called Moody over, and he came with a few of his trusted Aurors. They waited for a while to be sure they composed themselves enough to safely apparate away from that damned place.

When he teleported on a small balcony of his and Remus's flat, in London, it was raining. Their place was close enough to Leaky Cauldron to get there in 5 minutes on foot, but in a sufficiently Muggle district to not have to worry about nosy wizarding neighbours.

Every other day he would stop there for a moment to smoke a cigarette before going to bed. But that day he smoked three-quarters of the packet he had on him while they waited for Moody, and felt another wave of nausea at the thought of the smell of cigarettes mixed with the metallic smell of blood. The wind broke into an icy breeze under his cloak, making him shudder.

So he just walked into the apartment and was greeted by the sight of Remus rolled into a ball and sleeping on the couch. When he closed the balcony door, the young werewolf opened his sleepy, green eyes and raised his head, blinking like an owl.

"Padfoot?"

"Yeah..." he said softly, coming up to him and placing a gentle kiss on the top of his shaggy hair tied with greying specks. "Let's go to bed, babe, it's late."

"No...come here, we must talk..." Remus murmured and tugged his boyfriend's sleeve getting him to sit beside him. Sirius suddenly got a sinking feeling in his stomach hearing the tone of his voice. "Where have you've been? I was worried..."

"We...we've looked for Benjy..." he croaked. He could not get rid of the images from inside the cottage. Sirius suspected he would never get rid of them.

He felt a calloused palm on his cheek, gently guiding him to look at Remus. His gaze was researching, worried. Recently, it was like that too often.

"You found him."

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"You really don't want to know." he brought their foreheads together, closing his eyes. He felt Remus arms snaking around his neck. "I will never forget it. I won't...I'm so, so fucking tired of this...I'm afraid to sleep because I have nightmares about my friends getting murdered. And now I just won't forget Benjy...everything..." he felt the bile in his throat grow. He breathed shakily.

"It's okay...we're all tired...you have every right to be tired..." Remus murmured softly slipping his hands into his hair. His lips were soft and familiar but there was a strain in his tone and a stiffness in his posture that told Sirius that something wasn't right. They knew each other for eleven years at this point. They dated for five.

He knew when something bothered his werewolf.

He opened his eyes; he always had soft spot for Remus's eyes. They did not have the colour of emeralds like Lily's eyes. They were lighter, like fresh leaves, with gold spots. Thick eyelashes that surrounded them had exactly the same colour as his honey-brown hair.

For Sirius, Remus was all warm, familiar, safe. Like a home. He was like light, like a fire in the fireplace. He was all soft edges, gentleness and order.

Everything that Sirius was not.

"What's wrong?"

Remus worried his bottom lip with his teeth for a second before he spoke.

"Dumbledore was here today. He wants me to go back. To the pack."

"What?" Sirius asked weakly.

"And I agreed."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Sirius..."

"You almost fucking died last time!" Sirius jumped to his feet and looked at Remus incredulously.

"This time it will be easier. They know me now." He tried to smile reassuringly but his hand involuntarily went to the arm on which Sirius knew, hidden under long sleeves was a scar from the bite of another werewolf. A bite that snatched his shoulder from the pan and almost deprived him of the mobility in this joint. "I want to be useful. Everybody is out there risking their lives. And I sit here...useless."

"You're not useless! You teach people how to defend themselves! You call this 'nothing useful'?!"

"Anybody with a half of a wand could do this..."

"You do it better than any teacher or Auror I ever known!"

"It doesn't matter! There's only so much I can teach them! Besides, You Know Who is losing people right now. There's a big chance I can convince the pack to switch sides!"

"For fucks sake, Remus..." Sirius slumped to the floor next to the sofa and leaned against the man's legs. He took his hands and pressed them to his cheeks. He felt the onset of anxiety attack and began to take deep breaths to calm down.

It was too much. Too much for one day.

They sat there and Sirius was not sure whether it was five minutes or an hour. Remus stroked his face and hair, muttering the calming words. His legs were numb but he managed to calm his breath. Finally, he asked in a quiet voice:

"When do you leave?"

"In the morning."

"When you will be back?"

"Three weeks, more or less...I want... I want to stay with my mother for some time afterwards." he said quickly. "She feels sick again...and I want to spend some time with her..."

"You're not coming back here, aren't you?"

The silence was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Sirius was sitting there on the floor with his head on Remus' lap, staring blankly at the wall and waiting for the answer he already knew.

"I thought about it...for so long right now. And you know how much you mean to me..." the werewolf breathed shakily. "But you're not my mate. And it's always in the back of my head. And everything's okay, and I just wish we could live in a less fucked up times and be worried only about bad mouthing from old witches and wizards. Not about fucking war..." he trailed off and when there was no reaction from the other man, he continued "I mean...I don't know how to explain it..." he started to stutter until Sirius interrupted him in a clipped tone:

"Please try. I would like to know."

"Every time we are together, there's also Moony...fucking Moony telling me it's pointless and I should be looking for my mate. Every. Fucking. Time." he hissed. "I'm happy. I'm content. I feel safe. I love you." he tangled his hand in Sirius' black locks and tugged lightly "But it's nagging me. My heart and mind go to you and my instincts tells me to seek something else."

He dropped to his knees beside Sirius and straddled the others man lap sneaking his arms around his neck.

"You are my friend. From the first day. If it wasn't for you, I would be alone." he continued quietly. "You saved me. I cannot go on knowing that one day I may meet my mate and I will just have to leave." he kissed shyly the corner of Sirius's mouth. "I don't want to hurt you. I just know that right now we still have the chance to stay friends."

The Animagus scoffed wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Merlin, how I fucking hate you right now Remus." he pressed their lips together making the other man whimper silently and return the kiss heatedly.

The tension snapped and left them grasping each other desperately, tugging at their clothes and hair. It was messy and passionate, and Sirius feverishly thought that it was exactly how their relationship was throughout the years.

Remus thought that he was saved by Sirius. But Sirius, being the human mess, he was, wasn't capable to even help himself. He could only pretend to keep it together for the people he held dearest to his heart. In the long run the Black insanity and bad luck always kicked in.

"You know I would've chosen you? I would always choose you." Remus mumbled struggling with buttons of his shirt.

"I know. I love you."

"I love you."

•••

When he woke up the next day, he was alone.

**19 October 1981**

"Are you alright?" Marlene McKinnon cornered him after the Order meeting when he stood in the garden beside the Order's safe house and smoked a cigarette. It was damp and cold outside so she was dressed like she was about to take part in a polar expedition. Her golden hair fanned itself on her shoulders from beneath her cap and her blue eyes searched his face cautiously from behind the rim of her scarf. Sirius stood there only in his leather jacket and a Gryffindor coloured scarf so thin and long that looked more like a giant shoelace. His black hair curled on the collar of his jacket.

Their relationship always was a little bittersweet; Marlene called them 'frenemies' on which Sirius only scoffed. Their occasional flings always ended in arguments that were on the lips of all Hogwarts gossip dealers. She was however Lily's best friend and were on good terms with Remus and the rest of Marauders.

And despite all of that when one Ravenclaw girl tried to spike up Sirius's food with love potion one day, Marlene made sure that she would end up in the Hospital Wing with a nasty pimple infestation on her face and back. And when the Slytherin group tried to corner Marlene in the library after chasing her through the corridors of the castle until she took refuge in the Gryffindor tower, Sirius first calmed her down, comforted her and then pulled out all the names she could give him. Then all the identified Slytherins, oddly enough, found all their clothes hanging on the flanks and turrets of the castle, and they themselves spent almost two days in the hospital wing, after their pumpkin juice turned out to be an admixture of an extremely strong emetic elixir.

They looked out and took care for each other.

He flashed her his best shit-eating grin.

"Always."

"Lily and James are worried you know?"

"There's no need for that. I'm perfectly fine."

"Well I can smell firewhisky on your breath so maybe that's why." she commented with a sour expression.

He shrugged.

"I'm not even drunk."

"What happened between you and Remus? Yeah, I know. You're not so hard to crack Sirius Black." she added seeing his wide eyes.

"What happened between me and Remus is our business" he mumbled avoiding her eyes.

"Sirius for fuck's sake...You cannot just sulk around and do not tell anyone what's going on. How we are supposed to help you two?"

"Ask Remus then, maybe he will be more talkative."

"Remus is on an Order mission and you know it."

"Well, shit out of luck, love. I can't help you then."

They were quiet for a moment. And then:

"He will eventually come around." Marlene said moving the toe of her boot, a patch of rotten, wet leaves. Sirius chew around a curse seeing her hurt stance and shy looks she threw in his direction; he knew that move, of course she would try to soften him that way.

"He won't, Marly. It wasn't a normal fallout per se. It's something that none of us has any control over whatsoever." when Marlene crooked her brow questioningly, he sighed and continued: "I'm not his mate. With his...little furry problem Remus is tied to a mate. It can be a man, a woman, a person with a similar problem or someone totally not connected to it. It can be anyone..." he took a drag from his cigarette and finished letting out the smoke from his lungs: "...all we know is that it's not me."

"It's like this soulmate mumbo-jumbo? You really believe it?"

Did he believe it? Of course, he did. He could not help but believe when he knew James Potter and Lily Evans ... now Lily Potter. Knowing them for so many years and seeing their interactions, he knew that there was more to them than love. There was a bond between the two that could not be faked. Among other things, for this reason, he could not be angry with Remus.

"Yeah. I believe it."

"I would never take you for a romantic, Black."

He barked a laugh.

"Not much of a romantic there, I just watched James run around one girl for so many years that I had to believe it. That or finally accepting that I'm best friends with a complete moron."

They laughed and for a moment Sirius could almost forget that dull pain that he carried around in his chest for the last couple of days.

"So Remus must find his mate? What are the chances that he will be able to do it?"

"Slim to none."

"That's...horrible." she looked at Sirius with a furrowed brow. "Why would he throw away everything with you for something so... iffy?"

"Because he has no choice. I read a lot about it. The difference between soulmates and mates is that when you find your soulmate, you do not have to do anything about it. You don't have to act on it. You will miss out something valuable but it's entirely your decision. But in the case of a mate for our furry friend, he has no choice. When he finds his mate, his first instinct will be to protect him or her. And until he finds them ... well...all other relationships will be tainted by this awareness that it is not full."

There was silence for a while. Each of them plunged in their thoughts. After a moment Sirius felt a small, warm hand in his and when he looked at Marlene he saw the tears in her eyes.

"I hope he finds his mate. And that you will find your soulmate. Circe knows that you two deserve some happiness."

He smiled and put his arm around her.

"Don't worry your pretty head about me, McKinnon. I will survive."

**25 October 1981**

"JAMES POTTER LOOK AFTER YOUR BLOODY WAND!"

"Shit." James jumped to his feet and ran inside the house. Sirius laughed under his breath and stretched his legs forward. He and James were sitting on the steps behind Potter's Cottage wrapped in coats and smoking in turns the last cigarette from Sirius's packet; they were talking in hushed voices about the latest reports from the Order. There was another sighting of the strange white smoke, this time in a shady London neighbourhood where the Death Eaters tried to torture a couple of muggles. The whole ordeal ended before the Aurors managed to get there. They found two unconscious muggles, two dead dark wizards and one injured above healing. He died cackling that he managed to hit their attacker before they fled the site.

Sirius silently prayed to any entity that could hear him that their silent ally was alright.

He took the last blow, threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his shoe. He flicked his wand and the butt flew behind the fence and behind the magical barrier around the Potter house, straight onto the neighbor's yard.

When he stepped inside, he saw clearly offended James rocking a teared-up Harry in his arms.

"Oh, what's wrong Bambi?" Sirius cooed taking the toddler from his father. The boy immediately took fistful of his hair and tugged with a gleeful laugh.

"Siri!"

"Ouch! Not so rough. I don't want to go bald like your old man one day!"

"Fuck off, Padfoot!"

"Language!" Lily scolded entering the living room balancing a tray with tea and biscuits on the tip of her wand.

"Lils, honey, he will not remember it." James said defensively. At the same moment Harry, still in Sirius' arms, shouted with all his might:

"Fuck! Fu..." Sirius clasped a hand over the boy's mouth and looked at Lily. She sighed heavily and took her son from his godfather.

"Stop spoiling our baby, James."

Sirius laughed at his friend distraught face.

Most of the evening they sat and talked; about Harry, about war, about "old times", about Remus and his and Sirius's breakup. Harry sat on the carpet between them and played quietly, sometimes just coming wobbly to one of them to show off a toy.

"Sirius, have you seen Peter lately? Or you had any contact with him?" Lily asked suddenly, frowning. Sirius shook his head.

"I got the last letter from him somehow two weeks ago. He wrote that he could not reach the Order's meetings in the near future. And indeed, he was not on them."

James scratched his chin.

"He said that Dumbledore gave him some kind of assignment. Maybe he's undercover like Remus."

Sirius snorted.

"Mate, Pete sweats like a plague-ridden rat when he lies." James started laughing and Lily cracked a smile but still looked worried.

..._**there are rats among you. They will tear you to pieces if you are not careful**_...

He suddenly remembered the words and felt a wave of panic. Why now? After so many months? Is it because of the rat joke? Did that trigger his memory? Certainly, she did not mean it. Nobody knows about their forms. Nobody but themselves, Lily and Marlene, know that they are animagi...

"Maybe you're right...I'm worried because Dumbledore said we need to perform the Fidelius Charm as soon as possible before the other protection becomes too weak."

"Don't worry Lils." James put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head reassuringly. "Wormtail knows this. We agreed to do this before Halloween and there's still a few days to go."

"Yeah Evans. Don't worry about it. Wormtail has just a lot on his mind with the Order and his mom's not feeling well." Sirius forced a smile and immediately hid the resulting grimace taking a sip of tea.

**30 October 1981**

Peter looked like shit.

That was Sirius first thought when he saw his friend that day at the Potter Cottage.

He always was the smallest kid from their group; he was lanky and slim like Remus but not as tall and he lacked the bulk Sirius and James gained through Quidditch practice.

But right now, he looked sick; his face was in an unhealthy earthy colour, his skin looked almost saggy like he lost a couple of pounds in a very short time. His eyes were dim and watery when he looked around the living room. Even his shiny blond hair was mated and looked thinned.

They didn't see each other for a month or maybe more. And on a spawn of couple of weeks Wormtail turned into a walking corpse.

Sirius sat stiffly on the couch with his fingers clutched on his wand; for last couple of days he couldn't throw that nagging thoughts from his head.

..._**there are rats among you**_...

He tried to put it on his paranoia that has progressed over the past few months. There is no way that Peter would betray them.

Sirius moved his hand over his face; for the last couple of days he slept close to nothing and his eyes burned him from exhaustion.

..._**They will tear you to pieces**_...

_Why Peter? Why would you do this?_

But he didn't ask that out loud.

"Guys?" James asked uncertainly looking between him and Peter. Just then Sirius realised that they were looking at each other in silence. Sirius's hand was clamped so tightly over his wand that his knuckles turned white. Peter breathed heavily like he was about to start hyperventilating; he was sweating profusely.

Sirius stood up quickly and murmured something about a cigarette before he went outside.

He stood on the step outside the Potter Cottage and with trembling hands tried to light up his smoke. He wasn't sure if his hands shook because he forgot to take his jacket or because the strange encounter with Wormtail.

When he became so paranoid? He should be ashamed by the mere thought of that one of his best friends, one of the Marauders could betray them to You Know Who.

He felt warmness embracing him. He looked over to see Lily placing a blanket over his shoulders.

Prongs is a one lucky bastard. He thought seeing her soft smile and light in her emerald eyes.

"Everything's okay?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. Just some of the Black's loony heritage kicked in."

She chuckled and nudged his arm so she could tuck herself under the blanket with him.

"Sirius, I want you to do something for me."

"For you? Anything, Evans."

"I'm serious." she clasped a hand over her mouth as soon as she said it. Sirius bursted with laugh.

"It's okay! I'm listening Lils. Anything really."

She took a deep breath and leaned her head on his shoulder. She went quiet for a minute looking over the naked trees and bushes in her small, neat garden. Autumn went in with full force casting the Godric's Hollow in a gloomy hue. Sirius despised this time of year. Halloween could be a joyful feast, but in fact the only thing this season brought with it was death and decay.

"I want you to promise to take care of Harry. If something happens to us."

"What? Lily, come on..."

"No! Sirius, please, promise! Promise that you won't let anybody to take him away!" she took a shaky breath. "You're the only one we can trust."

"Lily, everything will be fine. You and James will be fine. You...you'll raise Harry by yourself." His voice broken a little. He felt a stinging in the eyes.

"I want you to promise you will raise him to be a wonderful man and a good wizard. And that you won't let anybody interfere. That he will have a happy childhood."

"What happened?"

She bit her lips; her cheeks were already wet from tears.

"Dumbledore wanted to talk with us about a plan B in case something happened to us. He really insisted for us to agree to let him take Harry in case of something's happening. He suggested that Harry should live with my sister then."

"Dumbledore did that?"

"Yeah...you know Petunia. I don't trust her to take good care for Harry. She's...she's too blinded by her hate to magic. James told Dumbledore that we made a decision about who would take care of Harry the day we chose you as godfather." she smiled weakly, turned to him and took his hand in hers. "You are our best friend, Padfoot. You are like a brother to both of us. I know you will be the best guardian for him...just...just promise me..." big tears began to roll on her cheeks again, and Sirius felt that similar ones began to fall over his face.

"I promise, Lily."

Peter would never betray his friends.

**31 October 1981**

"JAMES! LILY! HARRY!"

As usual, he apparated in a secluded street near the fountain in Godric's Hollow's main square. He agreed with the Potters for a small Halloween celebration; they were about to carve pumpkins and decorate cookies with Harry. All in muggle fashion, because Lily insisted that it was developing fun for the child.

The streets were deserted and quiet. The wet pavement shone pale in the light of the streetlights.

He saw it when he left the alley; the streak of emerald smoke was clearly cut off in the night sky. Immediately he felt cold sweat pour over him.

_No. No, no, no, no, no!_

In the blink of an eye, a bear-like, black dog ran through the streets of a deserted town. His huge paws hit the pavement with a dull thud, splashing puddles, trampling the leaves.

_No, no, no. Why Peter? Why would you do this?_

..._**They will tear you to pieces**_...

_He always had our backs in school and outside of Hogwarts. Right?_

..._**there are rats among you**_...

_He has his own bag of dicks to carry around. His mother is very sick, that's why he isn't so much around. And his father's business is all on him right now._

..._**you are not careful**_...

_He looks sick because of the stress of running a business and caring for a sick parent._

...**_think before you act_**...

_No, no, no. Not James, not Lily, not Harry!_

..._**BE CAREFUL!**_...

He ran through the main gate of Potters Cottage and transformed mid-jump. The wards were off; he should not be able to cross them without the help of someone from the inside.

But nobody came to meet him. Potter's Cottage was dark, dead. The right side of the top floor had been blown apart. Harry's room was now a pile of smoking rubble.

"PRONGS! LILY! HARRY!"

When he entered the lobby of the house he was greeted by a dead silence.

"Lumos." he lifted his wand.

From the living room door, there were now only two long splinters barely hanging on the hinges. He moved slowly, feeling the terror coming from his chest and chilling the blood in his veins. When he saw James, he did not even feel his legs bend under him and his knees hit the floor.

James lay on his stomach with his hands spread like the arms of a broken puppet. He was barefoot, in home clothing. His wand was a few feet away from his outstretched hand. His tanned face was gray in shade. His eyes were wide open, glasses crooked on his nose, his lips slightly parted as if he greeted Death with surprise.

A strangled sob escaped Sirius's chest.

"Prongs...no, no..." almost on all fours, he crawled over to his friend. He touched his icy cheek with a shaking hand, brushed the black, unruly hair, straightened his glasses. "James..."

The hot anger that replaced icy terror was all-encompassing, almost blinding.

He had to find and kill Peter. He had to find and tear to pieces this slimy traitor.

And then he heard the sound that made the anger disappear as quickly as it appeared.

Child's cry.

...**_Remember: think before you act. Especially in the next few months_**...

He scrambled to his feet and ran upstairs.

The room was like a battlefield at the moment. Through the gaping hole that remained after two walls and the roof, cold air burst in. The night was calm, moonless and the stars shone extremely bright. Pieces of debris littered the floor with broken furniture and toys.

He wanted to look everywhere, but at Lily.

She lay on her back beside the crib in which Harry stood, crying his eyes out. Her fiery red hair was scattered, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Sirius passed her carefully, clenching his jaws to stop the groan of despair threatening to get out, took Harry out of the crib and grabbed a blanket to wrap the toddler in.

He hugged the boy, whispering empty words of comfort, and left the room, casting his last glance at Lily. Harry whimpered silently in his arms calling his mom and dad, and Sirius tucked the child's head into his neck, shielding the site of his father body when they passed through the living room.

"It's okay Bambi...you're okay...they will be okay...Harry...shhh..."

Rubeus Hagrid's giant frame was probably the last thing he expected to see outside the cottage.

"Sirius!" the half-giant approached him quickly with red, tear-streaked face.

"Hagrid? He killed them...Lily, James...They're dead."

"Sirius...'Arry? What' with the boy?"

Sirius tensed and pressed the boy closer to his chest.

"Dumbledore sent you?"

Hagrid nodded, reaching out his big as trash cover hand, gently stroking with one finger the tip of a dishevelled, little head protruding from the blanket.

Sirius felt his heart beating like crazy. On the one hand, the need to find Peter and kill him in cold blood was extremely strong. On the other hand...

...**_think before you act_**...

Chasing Peter was easy. Finding Peter was easy. Letting Dumbledore to take care of Harry was easy. That was the thing Sirius would probably do just a few months ago.

But right now, he had to do the difficult thing. Right now, for the first time he was alone, but in the same time he wasn't. With his godson in his arms, James and Lily dead...

He promised.

"Okay, let's go see Albus."

He had to stay with Harry. They needed each other.


	2. Prolog 2- Here comes the sun

"_Little darling, it's been a long cold, lonely winter_  
_Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here_  
_Here comes the sun_  
_Here comes the sun, and I say_  
_It's all right_

_(…)_

_Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting_  
_Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear_  
_Here comes the sun_  
_Here comes the sun, and I say_  
_It's all right_"

The Beatles- Here Comes the Sun

* * *

**1 November 1981**

Dumbledore's office had not changed a bit during this time from the Marauders graduation. He suspected that this room had not really changed for many, many years.

Fawkes was dozing softly on his rod. Sirius could have sworn that the quiet snorting of the phoenix is in sync with that coming out of the bundle in Hagrid's arms where his godson was napping.

Harry fell asleep as they passed over Bristol.

Sirius thanked the gods for the fact that his motorcycle had been standing in the shed near the Potter's house for several weeks. He thanked them even more when the motorcycle turned on with a roar and without even the slightest cough.

After he had to escape from the Death Eaters and the Muggle police in the middle of London at the end of the June, he decided it would be safer to hide it for a while both from muggle and wizard authorities.

The silence was almost deafening for him. Hagrid seemed to drift off lulled by the serene atmosphere of the room but Sirius felt the storm raging inside of him. He wanted to throw, break, smash. He wanted to scream, kick and punch.

But in the same time he felt so tired, so incredibly tired and fed up.

It was well after midnight when they reached Hogwarts. Argus Filch almost fainted seeing them at the doorstep of the castle. Sirius sent his Patronus from Dumbledore's office when they finally sat there and could take a breath.

He and Hagrid have been waiting for 40 minutes, when the door burst open behind him, he did not even look back. It was only when Harry woke up screaming that he got up and took the weeping and writhing bundle from the scared Hagrid.

"Sirius?"

He did not raise his eyes. He rocked Harry humming the first melody that came to his mind. The boy looked at him with his big green eyes that were so painfully reminiscent of his mother's eyes. But Sirius was looking at the strange scar on his godson's forehead; it was inflamed, crawling from under his black mane to the forehead, eyelids and back of his nose. It looked like lightning cutting across the sky during a summer storm, branching out over the entire horizon with hundreds of larger and smaller veins.

"You weren't their Secret Keeper?"

At that Sirius looked up. Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall stood beside the entrance and looked and him cautiously.

"No. It was Peter." he croaked and smiled sadly. The anger evaporated and was replaced by sadness and exhaustion.

His mood-swings really should bother him more.

"Peter?" Remus suddenly emerged from behind McGonagall and Dumbledore. He was ghastly pale; his face was scratched and bruised and his clothes were in a pitiful condition. He looked definitely better than the last time he came back from the pack but still he looked sick and tired despite the full moon being weeks away.

"Sirius, what happened? I...I came back because Fenrir said that You-Know-Who is gone...the pack retreated to the mountains..." Remus took a few steps towards him. "Where's Lily and James?"

Sirius shook his head feeling his throat contract.

"NO! No, no, no!" Remus turned towards Dumbledore with a yellow flash in his eyes. "They were supposed to be safe! You were supposed to keep them safe!"

Dumbledore shook his head with a pained expression.

"This should not happen. I thought you were supposed to be their Secret Keeper, Sirius."

"It was James's idea." Black mumbled. "Who would suspect Peter of being their Keeper?" he continued to rock Harry as he watched the child drift off into sweet slumber. "Who would suspect Peter of being a traitor?"

There was a moment of silence, until McGonagall spoke for the first time:

"Thank Merlin the boy survived. And that you found him first Sirius."

"I was supposed to visit them today...yesterday...it was Halloween..."

"Sirius, I believe the boy's in danger. We must hide him." Dumbledore interrupted him in the middle of sentence. He sounded determined.

Sirius stilled and raised his eyes slowly to his former headmaster.

"You do not decide about it, Albus. You are not his guardian. And you will not be his guardian. No matter how hard you tried to convince Lily and James. They asked me. And I will keep my promise." He spoke calmly, but there was something dangerous in his tone and in his eyes.

"We don't know what happened for sure Sirius!" Remus looked panicked.

"We know exactly what happened Remus. Some of us where here." Sirius snapped. "James and Lily are dead. Harry is alive and Voldemort disappeared. Dumbledore wants to send Harry to live with Lily's muggle sister and her family, who's a bigoted bunch of assholes as far as I met them."

"I think it's better to just take Harry away from public's eye." Dumbledore's voice was quiet. He looked straight at Sirius.

"As I said; it's not your decision."

"Sirius...maybe you should..."

"Should what exactly Moony? Should break my promise? Should throw away my friend's sacrifice?"

"You are 21 for fuck sake." Remus hissed clearly annoyed.

"As where Lily and James!"

"He's not your son!"

"Not by blood, no. But by any other means he is." Sirius straightened his back flicking his hair over his shoulder. He could go pure-blood mannerisms when he needed to. Right now, it was this moment.

"I've made my decision. Dumbledore, Remus." he nodded towards them. "Minerva, is there a room in the castle where we can rest? I don't want to drive back home before I sleep in a little bit."

McGonagall nodded. Hagrid shuffled in his seat.

"I will get goin' Professors'. It's late and..." he broke off and shrugged.

Sirius and Hagrid fallowed McGonagall. Sirius felt Remus eyes on him when they left.

When they found themselves on the corridor they stopped and all three of them looked at each other; all three had the same expressions of sadness and despair. Hagrid patted Sirius on the shoulder with a solemn expression, he leaned over the bundle in his hands and put on Harry's head something that must have been a very hairy and scratchy kiss.

When he straightened himself there were big tears rolling from on his cheeks into his bushy beard. Hagrid took out from his pocket a handkerchief a size of a tablecloth and noisily blew his nose.

"Yer doin' the right thing, Sirius. Little 'Arry shouldn' live with muggles who don't know him."

"Thanks Hagrid." Sirius smiled to the half-giant; he appreciated his words even more given how Hagrid admired Dumbledore.

"Let's go Sirius." said McGonagall. Hagrid waved them when they walked down the corridor towards one of the towers where Sirius knew were teachers' chambers.

They walked in silence and he could tell that his old transfiguration teacher battelled with her thoughts. He was fine with this; he was so tired he couldn't be sure he would manage to talk and walk in the same time without tripping over his own feet.

He glanced once again at the bolt scar on Harry's head; he should take the kid over to Saint Mungo to check on this. He had no clue what kind of curse could leave this kind of scars, or what implications it would have for his godson.

Next thing to do was to put papers for an official adoption. So, nobody would question his decision again. Just to be sure...

They stopped before a portrait with a nobleman with a giant belly, dressed in a coat almost dripping with gold and precious gems. He had a comically big moustache with twirled up ends, and Sirius's thoughts immediately went to Gideon Prewett. Maybe that's where he got the inspiration.

"Good evening Minerva. Password?" the nobleman asked.

"Good evening Bolton. The password is _Detention_."

"Very well." Bolton nodded curtly and the portrait jumped forward revealing a hole in the wall.

The teachers tower had a common room like every house dormitory Sirius had been in. It was cosy, not as the Gryffindor common room, but it looked pleasingly. McGonagall turned to stairs leading up the tower and she turned into the first corridor on the second floor.

She stopped in front of a pair of shiny wooden door with a giant golden knob.

"This one should be fine. Stay as long as you need. Both of you." Sirius nodded.

McGonagall suddenly closed the distance between them and embraced him delicately, careful not to disturb slumbering Harry.

Sirius stiffened but after second he relaxed and returned the hug with one arm. It was nice, almost motherly. He thought about Euphemia Potter and her warm mom-hugs. He never expected that kind of hug from his old teacher.

"Merlin...you poor, brave children. You shouldn't be in this situation. Any of you." she sniffled faintly.

"Yeah..." he felt his eyes sting.

"If you ever need anything, remember you are always welcome here."

"I know Minnie. Hogwarts's home."

She huffed hearing the nickname she always nagged them about and freed him from her embrace.

"Goodnight Mr. Black."

He smiled hearing the official goodbye and said:

"Goodnight professor."

•••

The room was quite small but it had a bed. And that was the most important thing.

Sirius transfigured a chair standing in the corner of the room into a crib and place Harry carefully inside.

Then he collapsed onto the bed without bothering with clothes and shoes; he just wanted to sleep.

Just when he was about to drift off there was a quiet knock on the door. For a second he wanted to ignore the intrusion but the knock was there again, this time more persistent and determined.

He stood up, groggy and weak from exhaustion and opened the door. He didn't say a word when Remus slipped silently inside.

"We must talk."

"Well, this does not bode well, given our history." Sirius muttered bitterly and collapsed with a grunt on a chair standing beside a small table near the window. Remus sat on the opposite side, folding his arms on his chest. Sirius waved his wand to light a single candle standing in a ceramic pot on the table.

"Do you even realise what you're getting into?"

"Yes. I'm going to take care of the boy." Sirius shrugged and yawned.

"That means the end of partying."

"Yes."

"And occasional flings.'

"I've been in a relationship with you for five years, I've already got used to it." he shrugged again.

"And you will have to change your job or even stay at home."

"I will catch up with my reading arrears."

"That means the end of your childhood, Sirius."

"What are you getting at, mate?" the Animagus snapped.

"I just want to be sure that you understa..."

"I'm not an idiot Moony, despite the popular opinion." Sirius growled.

"I know this. I wouldn't have fall for an idiot." Remus said quietly.

"Stop it." Sirius hissed. "Just don't. Don't play with me."

"But it's true."

"I don't care." their eyes meet. "This is no longer your concern."

Remus sighed impatiently as if talking to the child.

"I'm your friend. I'm concerned about you."

"Are you concerned about Harry?"

"Of course! He's my friend's son!"

"So you think that Petunia Dursley would take better care for him than me?"

"Do not put words in my mouth! I did not say anything like that!"

Harry whimpered quietly from his bed. Both men looked at him anxiously and when it was certain that the boy was still asleep, Sirius said:

"But you think that Dumbledore's right? You think I should leave it all to him? Despite Lily's wish?" he leaned over the table and looked over at his friend with a fierce expression. "Are you absolutely sure that Albus Dumbledore will put Harry's well-being on first place? Are you sure he won't sacrifice his happiness for the 'greater good' he likes to talk about so much?"

Remus looked confused by this question.

"He knows what's best for us. And for Harry. Sirius if we don't trust Dumbledore then who we should trust?"

"Each other. I want you to trust me just as Lily and James did. Why cannot you do this?"

"I trust you I just..."

"You're a coward."

He wasn't mad. His word wasn't harsh or accusing. Sirius stated a fact in his own mind and it and that made Remus pause for a long moment.

"I've never been as brave as you and James." he finally stated in a quiet voice.

"I've always thought that you are the best of us." Sirius shook his head. "But right now...I'm not so sure."

They fell silent for a moment. Finally Remus stood up and without a word he went to the door. With his hand on the doorknob he said to the back of his friend's head:

"If you ever need help with anything..."

"Three weeks ago I'd be ecstatic to have you beside me Remus. To help. To share all of this. But right now...just go. Get out of my face. Leave me alone. Okay?"

After he heard the soft creaking of the door closing, he sat there in silence until first beams of the November sunrise were visible on the peaks of nearby mountains. Only then he dragged himself to the bed to pass out into first entirely dreamless slumber in weeks.

•••

Daily Prophet, issue #29,889, November 1st 1981.

**YOU-KNOW-WHO GONE! THE WAR IS OVER!**  
**THE BOY WHO LIVED SAVED THE WIZARDING BRITAIN!**

_On the night of All-Hallows-Eve we might have all witnessed most incredible happening in the history of modern magic. You-Know-Who (aka The Dark Lord), most powerful dark wizard since the reign of Gellert Grindelwald, disappeared unexpectedly._

_Our exclusive sources in the Ministry of Magic confirm that yesterday over at Godric's Hollow, at Potter Cottage the Ministry officials noted an incredibly powerful magic blast- the officials found two bodies of Lily Potter (21) and James Potter (21). Despite the throughout searching the did not found any trace of their son Harry Potter (1). The ministry couldn't officially confirm what was the source of magic blast..._

_(…)_

_Our exclusive sources at Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry however revealed to Daily Prophet redaction that Harry Potter was seen with Rubeus Hagrid (53) and the notorious Sirius Black (21), old friend of the Potter family and the boys godfather. Black known for his hot temper and family drama revolving around him..._

_(…)_

_The Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold confirmed in a press conference that You-Know-Who is dead. The Department of Control of Magical Creatures confirmed that from all over Great Britain there are news about retreating packs of werewolf's and groups of giants- known supporters of You-Know-Who cause._

_"Auror's are currently busy searching the last remaining Death Eaters and trying to figure out who was under the Imperius curse during the war." our sources claim. Head of the Auror Department Alastor Moody (46) refused to comment by saying: "Get out of my way bloody leaches." while hurrying through the corridors of Ministry..._

_(…)_

_The redaction od the Daily Prophet expresses its deepest regret about death of the Potter's and our sincerest hope for a bright future for their son and our hero, Harry Potter- The Boy Who Lived._

**6 November 1981**

It was a sunny, cold morning and Sirius thought bitterly that even the weather couldn't behave properly.

The whole wizarding world was celebrating; Sirius could understand this. The war was over. They were safe. The darkness was once more defeated.

But he couldn't stop to think about the price when he looked over at the graves of two of his best friends.

Harry blabbered in the baby carrier Sirius had on front, under his coat.

Sometimes he truly thought about these strange muggle inventions as blessings. He couldn't shop with Harry in the Diagon Alley thanks to the Daily Prophet publishing one bullshit article after another so he went to the muggle London. The girl in the muggle baby shop was charmed with him and Harry and helped him everything.

The hoarfrost sparkled in the crisp cold air and his and Harry's breath came out as white puffs. They came for a moment, to say goodbye. The funeral was not enough; Sirius felt that their two deserved a more intimate farewell for upcoming years. Not among the desperate friends and acquaintances and ministerial officials, Remus throwing reproachful glances at him, and Dumbledore peering at him above the halves of his glasses.

So, they went to the cemetery together at dawn, hoping that no one would be there. In the end, waking up at this time was not difficult considering that Harry seemed to sleep four hours a day and for the remaining twenty still be extremely active.

They stood there in silence, the sun slowly swam through the sky when a dreamy voice came from Sirius' back making him jump:

"It's such a shame. Lily was so kind. And James always made me laugh."

In the alley next to her stood a small woman in a cornflower robe and a matching hat that looked definitely too thin for that weather. She had long, fair hair, practically gleaming golden in the cold morning light. She was extremely pale, making her huge, silvery eyes look even larger, almost surprised. She held an armful of plants that Sirius recognized as a wormwood.

"Pandora? You scared me. I didn't hear you coming."

"Oh, I'm not surprised. You were so deep in thought. I guess it's normal given the circumstances." she glanced at the bulging front of his coat where a small head protruded wrapped in a scarf and hat. "There's a big challenge ahead of you, Sirius Black, but oh, how fulfilling." she smiled.

"I've heard that you've got a baby girl with Xenophilius. Congrats'." he returned the smile; he always liked Pandora. They've met one day in Hogsmeade. She was three years above them but he liked talking with her. She was insightful and sensitive and had a special kind of calmness in her that Sirius enjoyed.

"Yes, my Luna is eight months old already. They grow so fast. I'm afraid that I will miss something if I blink." she laughed sweetly but the second later her silver eyes became glassy and unfocused and the wormwood bouquet fell of her hands.

Sirius felt his throat go dry.

"Pandora? Are you alright?"

"_On the thorny path, the one born under the Dog Star will grow to be the Keeper...The One Who Walks In-between will return when the thirteenth year will pass and The Dark Lord will rise again and the blood will flood the world once more. But The Dark Lord is destined to fall when the Stars align with the Amber Moon._"

And just like that she blinked and looked with surprise at the wormwood scattered at the tombstone at her feet .

"Oh Circe! What did I say? I'm so sorry Sirius, it didn't happen for so long now. What did I say?" she looked worried as she scanned his face.

"You...you said...that You-Know-Who will return...and you talked about the...the Dog Star...and The One Who Walks In-between...Do you know what this is all about?"

"No! Do you?" She asked earnestly; her eyes looked even larger.

"No! I didn't even know that you are a Seer!"

She shrugged and leaned over to pick up the scattered herbs.

"I've always been like this. Although the last prophecy happened to me shortly after graduating from Hogwarts. I've predicted Luna's birth and..." she stuttered and her bottom lips quivered almost unnoticeably before she continued: "...other things that didn't happen yet."

"So these prophecies are final? There's nothing we can do?" he asked weakly throwing a fearful look at the tombstone behind him. Pandora rose with the wormwood back in her arms and looked at him with a gentle smile.

"Nothing is predetermined, Sirius. Even if you think so now. The future depends on our actions. And even if the unfavourable predictions come true because they were beyond our decisions, it depends on us how we can handle the consequences. How can we deal with the loss." she looked at James's and Lily's grave and smile sadly. "The things we lose always have a way of coming back to us in the end."

**12 November 1981**

"Knock, knock!" Marlene and Dorcas peeped into kitchen of Sirius London flat only to find the young man hunched over a stack of scrolls chewing the tip of the quill. Harry sat opposite in a high chair and with great concentration squeezed the gruel from his bowl through his small fists.

"How is my favourite boy?!" Dorcas cooed and the toddler squealed throwing the gruel into the air. Sirius waved his wand without looking and the flying gruel disappeared before it hit any surface in the kitchen.

"Well thank you, Dorky, I'm quite good. Thank you for asking."

"I wasn't talking to you, Black." The girl grumbled, sat beside Harry and started feeding him pretending the spoon is a flying broomstick.

"What ya doing?" Marlene peeked above his arm curiously.

"Paperwork. I've offered to Moody that I will at least try to help that way. They have too much work and too few hands right now."

Moody was surprisingly forgiving and grumbled less than Sirius expected. But this did not prevent him from burying the young Auror with papers when he offered to help with cataloguing reports and testimonies.

"You know we can take care of Harry if you need to go to work, right?" Dorcas asked seriously.

"You know that I actually don't have to work with the money Alphard left me?" Sirius asked looking at the girls with a quirked eyebrow. "War's over, and I became an Auror only because that was necessary. Besides the baby books say that I should give Bambi some stability right now. Without many people juggling him around..."

"Wow, Dadfoot. You were right when you yelled at Remus, Marlene." Dorcas said while trying to give squirming Harry another spoonful.

"Dadfoot..."Sirius mouthed quietly with big eyes.

"Yeah, that werewolf has some serious attitude issues." Marlene growled. "How could he even doubt you?"

Sirius chuckled grimly throwing the quill on the table.

"You don't doubt? I even doubt myself right now. Harry's crying for Lily and James every night. He has nightmares." he combed his hair with fingers in a tired gesture. "I'm having nightmares too. I'm worried I'm to broken to be a good role model. I don't even know how such a role model looks; didn't exactly have one growing up."

"Well, you're Sirius Black, right?" Marlene looked at him fiercely. "You always have a plan."

He chuckled again this time sincerely.

"That I have, McKinnon. I'm selling this flat and I'm taking Harry far, far away from Great Britain."

"Where?" girls asked simultaneously.

"Australia."

"You're kidding?!" Dorcas almost fell of her chair.

"No. I want us to fall off the radar for a while. There is a lot of people who mean us harm, and a hell a lot of those who say they want our good but in reality, they want to use the boy."

"Why not States? You don't have an aunt there?"

"I like them but I don't trust them. Merlin knows how many plans Dorea would have for us. Australia is far away and it's easy to disappear there. The community is small and there's no problem with blood purist." he counted on his fingers.

"That sounds...very thoughtful actually."

"You sound so surprised Dorcas, really."

"I guess I have to get used to Dadfoot." she shrugged with a sly smile dancing on her lips.

"You will come back?" Marlene asked suddenly.

Sirius thought about it. On the one hand he wanted to come back one day, he wanted to show Harry his parents' home and he wanted him to go to Hogwarts one day. On the other, he still thought about Pandora's prophecy he witnessed at the cemetery. It only meant trouble for both of them and they really should keep low and stay away.

But did he really could stay away if the remains of his patchwork family were in danger?

"I don't know yet, Marlene."

**19 November 1981**

Daily Prophet, issue #29,907, November 19th 1981.

**PETTIGREW CAUGHT!**  
**YOU-KNOW-WHO'S MOST FAITHFUL SERVANT IN AZKABAN!**  
**BLACK TAKES HIS REVANGE!**

_Daily Prophet's exclusive sources in the Auror Department confirmed that the individual Peter Pettigrew (21) was arrested at the night form 18th to 19th of November, by an Auror strike division led by Head of the Department, Alastor Moody (46)._

_(…)_

_According to our exclusive sources from the place of the whole ordeal the Auror that broke Pettigrew's wand after the arrest was no one else but Sirius Black (21). Black who was an old friend of James (21) and Lily Potter (21) and also Pettigrew, who's actions lead to Potter's death, was on the forefront of the hunt for Pettigrew from the day of You-Know-Who's death._

_Our exclusive sources also claim that after breaking Pettigrew's wand Black also broke his ex-friends nose forcing other members of the squad- allegedly Fabian (24) and Gideon Prewett (24)- to part him from the arrested Death Eater._

_(…)_

_Alastor Moody confirmed that Peter Pettigrew is currently held in Azkaban and awaits his trial. And at this he confirmed that the Auror Department closed its list of the most wanted Death Eaters._

_(…)_

_The redaction of the Daily Prophet will be keeping tabs on the Ministry for a righteous trial for Peter Pettigrew._

**5 May 1983**

The kitchen looked almost serene in the soft light of the quiet early Tuesday morning.

Pots with herbs stood along the windowsill under colourful curtains, the sink was clean without even one dish inside and a bowl of fresh-looking fruit stood neatly on the countertop.

One wall beside the entrance to the kitchen was plastered with child's drawings. Among them there was one with a big, black dog on a green grass, and one with a pink house with two stick figures in front with black lines on their heads, and another with a yellow beach with shells and a blue sea with orange fish.

One would think that it was a perfect morning in a perfectly calm and happy household.

And on any other day, it was true.

Beside a simple wooden table sat a man with long raven-black hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was hunched over a newspaper as he read; beside laid a roll of preachment written with a narrow and messy handwriting. The tension was visible in his shoulders as he scanned the front page. One of his bare feet tapped nervously on the colourful tiles on the kitchen floor.

"Dad? I'm hungry." little boy with a black mop of messy hair, still in pyjamas, entered the kitchen rubbing his eyes with little fists. When he looked over at the man, he immediately became alarmed. "Daddy? You're crying?"

The man smiled and shook his head, despite his cheeks being wet from tears and his grey eyes looking glassy and sad.

"Don't worry Bambi. I...I was cutting some onion for the breakfast and became too attached."

The boy giggled at this and scrambled on the man's lap.

"What's this?" he pointed at the preachment.

"A letter from an old friend. Your uncle actually. Uncle Remus...remember how I've told you about him?"

"Yes!"

"So it's a letter from him."

"What's in it?"

"Well...a little bit on what's going on where uncle lives, a little bit about what's up with his life and a lot of questions about you."

"Me?!" the boy squealed, his green eyes big from excitement that someone form so far away is interested in what's happening with him.

"Yeah! He can't wait when he will see you again. Last time he saw you, you were so little." the man showed the size with his hands. "You were a size of a potato maybe."

"No! I was never a potato!" the child protested trying to pout and failing when the man tickled his sides.

"You want to go to the beach later? We can search for some nice shells to finish the porch with."

"Okay. But first breakfast."

The man burst with barking laugh and ruffled the boy's already messy hair.

"Go brush your teeth and I will make some food. We will make a picnic-breakfast!"

"Yaaay!" the boy roared and hopped from his place on the lap and ran from the kitchen.

The man sighed and stood up picking up the newspaper and before he threw it into the trash-bin, he took last look at the front page, the photo and the title, written in angry, big letters:

**Daily Prophet, issue #30,434, April 30th 1983.**

**YOU-KNOW-WHO'S LAST PAWN GONE!**

**PETTIGREW EXECUTED BY DEMENTOR'S KISS!**

**9 February 1985**

Daily Prophet, issue #31,085, February 9th 1985.

**SIRIUS BLACK SPOTTED ON DIAGON ALLEY!**

**THE LAST BLACK IS OUT FOR HIS HERITAGE?!**

**THE BOY WHO LIVED GROWN UP!**

**EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS FROM RITA SKEETER!**

_Our exclusive sources at Daily Prophet claims that Sirius Black (25) was spotted yesterday with his adoptive son Harry Potter (5)._

_After the downfall of You-Know-Who regime, in which young Potter took a key role, both of them seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth. Rumours say that they took refuge in a far and exotic temples of Taiwanese monks. Looking at the deep tan we can see on Mr. Black in the pictures, the redaction of the Daily Prophet says that the rumours seems to be true!_

_(…)_

_One can only suspect that Black's sudden return is linked to his mother's, Walburga Black (60) illness that if we can believe the gossip tied her down to bed. We could be looking at a beautiful redemption arc for the reckless, handsome rebel!_

_(…)_

_The redaction of the Daily Prophet expresses its deepest hope for a happy ending for the Ancient and Noble House of Black!_

•••

The residence of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black at Grimmauld Place 12 looked exactly as gloomy as Sirius remembered form his last visit there, when he was sixteen.

He was wearing his best robes and he was clean shaven probably for the first time in 3 years but his hair was longer than ever and fanned over his shoulders and back. He knew his mother despised them and the earring in left ear he presented himself for his fifteen birthday. And he knew she would be mad at his tanned skin. After all a pureblood shouldn't look like he just stopped working in the field.

He wondered why his mother so politely asked for a meeting. He was paranoid when it came to his family.

But he left Harry with Marlene. And Dorcas promised to come later. So he was safe.

And his mother was alone. No husband. No other son. Only her and an old atrocious house elf.

Of course, he suspected why she wanted to see him.

He thought about it all the time since her owl came.

..._**See you around Sirius Black... or maybe as I will call you...Lord Black?**_...

She apparently knew. Was she a Seer? Like Pandora? He could only wonder.

"My lady awaits you in her study." Kreacher bowed low throwing him venomous glances. "Filthy blood traitor." he muttered under his breath.

"Thanks." Sirius said. "You disgusting piece of shit." he added quietly passing the elf on his way to his mother's study.

Walburga looked fragile and pale sitting in the enormous chair beside the fireplace. Her skin was ashen in shade and her once black and shiny hair looked mated and hanged limply around her face. And her face...Sirius wasn't ready to see her face like that; she looked ghastly. With hollowed cheeks and skin tightly fitting around her cheekbones and eyes she looked like a living corpse. Her hands looked like white spiders with their pale, long fingers.

Yes, Sirius despised her, most of the time he was revolted by the mere thought that she is his mother by blood and flesh, but she still unfortunately was his family.

Once terrifyingly beautiful and powerful Walburga Black now was a mere shadow of herself.

He nodded his head in greeting. She motioned with her hand for him to sit on the chair opposite to her.

"I've heard you're very sick."

"You sound almost hopeful." she quipped and her paper-white lips crooked in a smile. Sirius returned the smile tightly. "You look like a muggle peasant."

"Thank you. You look like you're supposed to be dead already. But I guess a bad thing never dies." he said politely.

"If this is any comfort for you there's not much time for me left. I'm dying." she said with an unexpected force in her voice. Sirius straighten himself and quirked his eyebrow.

"You invited me over to say this to me? You know how little I care about what happens with you. You took care of it."

"I don't care about what happens with you either. But I care about our heritage. I care about the properties and gold that lay in our vaults."

"Our? I thought you disowned me."

"I want you to claim the heritage and take the title of Lord Black. Otherwise the Gringotts will claim all the family property."

He felt a cold shiver run through his spine.

_The last piece of the puzzle falls into the place._ he thought suddenly.

"There's nobody else who could claim it? Cissy maybe? Dromeda?"

"Every knut outside Narcissa's dowry is claimed by the Ministry, since Lucius is in Azkaban. And their son is only two. Besides Narcissa severed all ties with family after her wimp of a husband decided to hand himself to the Ministry. As for Andromeda I contacted her and she replied with a Howler. As you can guess she declined to meet me." her grey eyes meet his and he thought how strange is that they are all the same as when she was beautiful and healthy. "You are the last one."

He was silent for a moment before he asked slowly straining every word.

"Are you fully aware what I will do with the Ancient and Noble House of Black?" Sirius asked sweetly, feeling a wave of vengeful glee seeing how his mother paled and tighten her lips into a thin line.

He leaned forward and continued in a similar tone but this time he let the venom show in his voice.

"I will tear this snake pit brick after brick, back to the foundations, and rebuilt it as everything you despised all your life in gold and red. Every muggle, every crossbreed, every creature will be welcomed as one of our own. I will claim my father's seat in the Wizengamot and I will vote to pass every bill you would shoot down. And you will roll in your grave when one day my place will take a little half-blood, the boy who defeated the Dark Lord. My heir." he smiled again. "But the first thing I will do when I will become Lord Black will be burning this hellhole down. Would you like that mother dearest? Would you like this place to be your burning stake?"

Walburga sat stiffly in silence for a moment until her lips stretched in an ugly smile.

"You are so much like your father, my son."

•••

He sat at a table in the far corner of the Leaky Cauldron and sipped his beer absentmindedly. He dropped the habit of drinking Firewhisky years ago, when he became responsible of another little life. He didn't miss it as much as he thought he would.

Meeting with Walburga left him a little shaken up. Her words couldn't leave his mind.

...**_You are so much like your father, my son_**...

He remembered his father, Orion Black, as a quiet, withdrawn man who never said anything when his wife tormented their sons. He mostly was gone doing business. But whenever someone who worked with him mentioned him to Sirius, they always said he was a vicious fanatic who made the most powerful wizards in the Ministry tremble before him.

Sirius wondered what his mother saw in that moment that reminded her of her late husband.

_Guess the Black crazy is coming out._

"Sirius?"

He lifted his head and saw Remus.

He didn't know what to expect when his old friend offered a meeting. They had some contact over the years but overall it was a handful of laconic letters and packages with birthday presents for them and for Harry.

Remus looked...older. But not five years older, more like fifteen. His hair was longer and almost completely grey. His face was more wrinkled and paler than it was, and his eyes were more gold than green. They had a sad, miserable look about them. His robes were neat but visibly worn-out and they hung on him loosely.

But still; he looked like home. And until that moment Sirius wasn't aware how much he missed him. He stood up and embraced the other man tightly. Remus hugged him back burying his face in his shoulder. They stood like that for a while surrounded by the chatter of the people gathered in the bar to have some fun and relax on that Saturday evening.

"Merlin. How I've missed you." he heard a muffled mumble. "How I've terribly missed you."

"Me too. You have no idea."

"I'm sorry. You were right in so many things. Will you ever forgive me, Padfoot?"

"I forgave you years ago."

•••

"So the Order just fallen apart? Nobody contacted you for five years?"

Remus nodded sipping his beer.

"Only Marlene and Dorcas. Sometimes the Prewett's. That's it."

He insisted for Sirius to tell him how his last five years in Sidney was, how Harry's doing. When Sirius finished, he referred shortly how he jumped from one odd-job to another and how he sent his papers for Hogwarts DADA teacher every year with no luck, let alone a reply. He told him about his mother's death and monthly transformations in the basement of his old family home.

Sirius felt anger at Dumbledore for ignoring Remus, a man who was ready to risk his life on any mission he was given. A man who believed in him despite everything.

But right now, he could change things for better.

He leaned over the table and grabbed the werewolf's hand.

"Listen! I've talked with Walburga today. I've decided to take my title and heirloom after she dies."

Remus squeezed his hand back and looked at him with big eyes.

"But...you hate them. You hate all that's linked to them."

"Yes! But it's my opportunity to change things. Imagine Remus! Black's are the part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight! My family is one of the three most powerful of them. Malfoy's practically non-existent now and Potter's...well, the last British Potter will be also the heir of the Black family."

"What's your plan?" Remus asked in a hushed tone leaning over the table; his eyes were shining with excitement.

"I'm going to take the title. And I will do everything to change my family's name into something worthy. And I will need your help. But until then, I will have to bear Walburga a few more times. She must tell me everything that has changed since Orion trained me as his successor. So since I was 13 or so." he laughed. "It's going to such a pain in the ass."

"It is! But imagine how free you will be after that!" the werewolf laughed. "Oh, Merlin, I missed this. I missed _us_. It's been so lonely since...you left." he added with a sad smile.

"I'm back. And I will stay. I've never thought I will be grateful for something that the old hag did." At the thought of Walburga his smile suddenly dropped. "Remus, tell me please...and be honest with me...does the fact that I wait for her death and I think about it with pleasure...does that mean I'm a bad person?"

Remus bit his lip like he was wondering how to put what he wants to say. Finally, he smiled gently and said:

"I think that's perfectly normal given how that woman made your childhood hell on earth. Do I think that makes you a bad person?" he shook his head. "Do I think you are a bad person?" he shook it again. "Do I think you could be a bad person? Yes. Probably. Like all of us. And you are that more admirable, because your history gives you every right to be bitter, self-centered asshole...and yet you are the most selfless and gold-hearted man I've ever met." he smiled again. Sirius returned it charmingly and asked:

"Do you want to see Harry? I have to pick him up from Marlene, anyways"

Remus laughed quietly and if anyone looked at them at that moment there was a chance, they would see the deep crimson blush on the werewolf's cheeks as the future Lord Black lifted his hand to his lips placing a chaste kiss on it.

**31 July 1987**

"RONALD WEASLEY, WATCH OUT FOR YOUR SISTER!"

Molly's Weasley shriek pierced through the garden and opened window in the kitchen making Sirius wince. He shooed her from the kitchen to prepare Harry's birthday cake.

It was a warm Friday afternoon and the temperature would be almost unbearable if it wasn't for the cold breeze from the sea.

The new nest of the Ancient and Noble House of Black was a bright and spacious house with a piece of nearby beach. Sirius looked for something near the sea and relatively near London so it fell on the Brighton area.

The kids ran around in a cacophony of screams and laughter. Sirius smiled under his beard hearing Neville Longbottom scream at the youngest Weasley boy that he's "a jerk".

He was quite relived when Harry caught contact with other kids his age; they've met Alice and Frank with Neville by accident one day when they went to Gringotts to finalize a few things after he claimed the title.

He have known Alice and Frank from school and despite never being very close at the time they've all been in the Order, this time they've clicked right away. So did boy's.

Then he meet Arthur Weasley while trying to legally register his motorcycle as a magically modified muggle object suitable for use. Arthur was a great guy with an obsession on muggles and their inventions. His wife Molly sometimes could be a pain in the ass but other than that she was a golden woman who really resembled at times her younger brothers Gideon and Fabian.

They had seven kids. Sirius thought Arthur is pulling his leg when he said that but apparently there really was nine of Weasley's scattered around the world with their oldest son being in Egypt. Their youngest son was exactly Harry's and Neville's age, so they started to hang around with each other.

Year and a half later they were so close that Sirius really hoped that they would end up together in on one House.

That was of course years away, but he couldn't help but wonder where his son would end up.

Harry was a Parselmouth.

First time he saw Harry speak with a snake was still in Australia, one day when they were on their way back from the beach. The boy crouched across from a small black snake and let out a long chilling hiss. The reptile stilled, lifted itself a little from the ground and crooked his head to the side like it was wondering if that little boy really was talking to him.

_And then it hissed back._

Sirius stopped in his tracks when he saw this, wondering how he should react. Finally, he called Harry to him in a weak voice and when the boy came over, he took his hand and didn't let go until they were back at home.

He spent the fallowing weeks reading everything he could find about Parseltounge. It was hereditary. He remembered James hissing on random Slytherins on the corridor but that was all. On the other hand, it wasn't anything any wizard family would proudly announce around.

There was also that the scar on boy's head. They warned him at St. Mungo's about possible side-effects. For Sirius side-effects where something like his dog-quirks he gained after becoming an animagi. Like his disgust for cats. Or his urge to feel wind in his hair. Or the fact he liked belly and ear scratches. In both forms.

That was what he called side-effects. Not knowledge of a whole langue popularly linked with dark magic. Because beside this Harry was a normal, happy kid. And Sirius decided he didn't give a fuck about him talking with snakes.

He sometimes tried to pinpoint the exact moment when Harry stopped being his friends' kid, his godson and started being his son. He always loved him but what started as his duty to his brother and sister in everything but blood transformed into something, he never suspected he even wanted. A family. A son. An adult life focused on making everything right for this little person he adopted. It made him feel whole. And it made him feel lucky.

He waved his wand and the seven candles on the cake lit up. In that moment green flames erupted from the fireplace and a little girl with long, blond hair and giant blue eyes hopped into the kitchen. She had a necklace from butterbeer corks around her neck.

"Hello Mr. Black!" she smiled showing two front teeth missing.

"Hello Luna!" he smiled. "Harry, Ginny and the boys are in the garden. Watch out for Mrs. Weasley though. She seems to be in a foul mood today." Luna nodded and took off running to the garden.

A couple of seconds later the fireplace lit up again and Pandora left it elegantly.

"Hello dear." she smiled dreamily and glided to him to kiss his cheek.

Pandora was a real heaven-sent from the day they returned to Great Britain. She helped him keep his head a clean and bright place through last two years when one dark secret after another just crawled from the depths of his family history.

She and Remus kept tabs on him in moments of doubt and reminded him where he started and who he was. Through every Daily Prophet article, every cruel gossip, every bad eye he got from others after he took the Lord title. After two years most people finally saw that he wasn't just a younger copy of his father.

"DAD!" Harry run into the kitchen red-faced with his hair wilder than normally. Sirius quickly covered the birthday cake from the boys' site.

"Harry? What's up?" Pandora asked waving her wand to cover the cake with a tall, white cloche.

"Ron, Fred and George say I will have to marry my cousin!" he said breathlessly.

_That little shits._

"No you won't have to marry your cousin, mate. They're just being jerks, don't listen to them."

"They say she has a strange name. Drago or something."

_Motherfucking little..._

"Okay, listen." Sirius crouched and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Your cousin's name is Draco. It's a he. His mom is my cousin and we don't have any contact whatsoever. You will marry who the fuck you want, whenever you want when you will be an adult. Until then you can tell Ron, Fred and George that they don't have a chance to marry anyone with such ugly mugs like theirs." and after a second of thought he added. "If they don't shut up you can put some itching powder on their chairs. I think Ginny and Luna would gladly help you with that"

Harry's face lit up with a big smile, he gave his father a quick hug and ran back to the garden.

"He's so much like James." Pandora said thoughtfully.

"Yes. And so much like Lily." he replied taking the cloche from the cake and lilting the candles again.

"And he has so much from you." she smiled a bright happy smile. He chuckled and waved his wand lifting the cake into the air.

"Come on, Pan, let's embarrass my boy a little singing him Happy Birthday very, very loudly."

**1 September 1991**

"Dad, what if I end up in Slytherin?"

Sirius looked at Harry thoughtfully. He looked almost identically to James when they've met for the first time at Hogwarts Express. Only their eyes didn't match, because Harry had Lily's eyes hidden behind his round glasses.

They stood on the crowdy Platform 9 ¾ surrounded by the noisy crowd of parents, students, cats, owls, suitcases, carts and magic.

"Well then you will be in Slytherin. What's wrong with that?"

"I don't know..." the boy said quietly. "It's just...the twins are in Gryffindor and Ron will be there too, and they say only bad people are in Slytherin."

"That's bull. There's no such rule. It doesn't matter where you will end up. Do you think that aunt Dromeda is a bad person?" Harry shook his head. "She was a Slytherin."

"But I want to be a Gryffindor! Like you, uncle Remus and... them." the last thing he added quietly, uncertainly.

They had the talk. Sirius decided a year earlier that it was time to talk about things with Harry. The boy listened to his long story about Lily and James Potter. About how brave and smart they were. How good friends and family they were to him most of his life. And how they loved him – Harry – so much that they gave their life's away just to keep him safe. How all of this doesn't change the fact that he's still his son and he loves him, and it doesn't matter how they became a family. What mattered it was that they stayed one.

Harry knew about Voldemort's attack. He knew he was adopted. He knew a lot of these things but it was the first time they talked about it. And it was a cleansing experience for both of them.

He crouched to boy's level and looked him in the eye.

"If you want to be in Gryffindor all you have to do is ask the Sorting Hat to put you there." Sirius smiled and added. "It worked for me."

Harry's eyes became wide with wonder.

"Really?!"

"Yeah. I wanted to be a Gryffindor so bad that I just asked for it. But I can tell you now that the house you are in doesn't matter so much when you are a grown up. We all have something from each of them. It's your decision how you act later."

The boy nodded with a solemn face and in that moment the Hogwarts Express let out a piercing whistle announcing it's oncoming departure.

"Come on, I will help you put your suitcase inside the compartment. Ron and Neville should already have one."

•••

He stood on the platform waving after the leaving Express and fought with himself not to just turn into a dog and run, run, run after his son. He never thought that parting with him will be so difficult.

"They grow so fast. Don't they?" he heard a female voice from behind. He turned just to see Narcissa Malfoy all in black standing there with an uncertain face.

She didn't change a lot through the years; she still was the prettiest of the Black sisters with her platinum blond hair and grey eyes. But she looked a little beaten up by life and tired.

"Yeah...my friend used to say that if you just blink you can miss something changing in them."

"I'm...I'm so proud of Draco."

"He will do good, Cissa. He can handle it."

She smiled finally.

"I raised a mommy's boy, cousin. It's going to be hard."

"Merlin, let's hope he's more like his mother than his father then. Lucius was a real wimp in school."

**6 June 1994**

"A Triwizard Tournament? Are you serious Ludo?" Sirius asked with a sceptical glance at the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman.

"That's funny I thought you are Sirius." Bagman grinned in a stupid smile that dimmed very quickly when he saw Lord Black's gaze.

"I've been making this joke for almost thirty-five years now. It's only funny when I make it. Believe me."

They were in Sirius' office in his London home. There he accepted the suppliants and lived during the school year and when Harry was not around. Right now, the boy was at the Burrow for a week.

Bagman stood in front of his desk, nervously crumpling the edge of his robe.

"But it's a great opportunity to open up again to other Wizarding Schools in Europe!"

"I don't know. You can't just organise a chess tournament or something that doesn't have a body count in it's history?"

"It will be totally safe! We already took every measure to ensure about it."

"How can you ensure something like that? That's ridiculous! Are you even serious there in the Ministry?! _Don't._" he raised a warning finger as he saw Bagman opening his mouth. "And you have everything ready and now you are asking the Board of Governors if you can do it on the Hogwarts grounds?"

Ludo started to fidget even more, and Sirius, who already knew what Bagman wanted to tell him, simply decided that he had pulled out the shortest straw. That's why he, not Barty Crouch, talked to him. He decided to press Bagman a little more.

"I'm not convinced Ludo. I think I would have to put a no-go on this one." he said in a final tone. "And I will advise the rest of the Board to vote against."

"But the rest of the Board already agreed!"

Bagman blurted in panic and his eyes widened in fear as Sirius slowly lifted up behind his desk.

"Soooo...you are saying that you asked the Board before you asked the Board's chairman? Is that what are you saying Ludo?"

"N-n-n-no! Absolutely not! We...we just consulted them! Nothing... nothing binding"

"That's good. Because my word is enough for your Triwizard Tournament project to fly through that window like just like your Quidditch carrier." Sirius crooked his head to the side and smirked. "Let's hope your current carrier won't share the same faith, right Ludo?" Bagman flinched and he quickly wiped his sweat from his forehead with the hem of his robe.

After few silent and fidgety moments, he finally broke:

"Okay, okay! We talked with the rest of the board first. Barty hoped it would help convince you to the idea if you knew the rest already agreed. I'm sorry Sirius, really, I told him it's a bad idea!"

Sirius smiled; it was quite a sincere smile. The one he rarely used in business. But Bagman really made him laugh with his nervous submissiveness.

"I know about everything Ludo. Dorcas Gellert wrote to me the moment you contacted her. So did the rest of the board." he laughed. "They've asked if they should accept the project."

He circled the desk and stood against Bagman, who was almost a foot shorter than him, so he had to bend his head to look into his face. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"If you have tried to check how far my authority goes, I congratulate you. You showed how far your idiocy goes. Next time, I hope Barty will remember that there is no thing that happens without my knowledge both in the ministry and at Hogwarts. If I did not wish your Triwizard Tournament there, it would not be there." he said in a calm tone. "Do I make myself clear?"

Bagman nodded vigorously and Sirius smiled once more returning behind his desk.

"Good. Great talk as always Ludo. You should come here more often, really."


	3. Chapter 1- Rocketman

"_And I think it's gonna be a long long time_  
_'Till touch down brings me round again to find_  
_I'm not the man they think I am at home_  
_Oh no no no I'm a rocket man_  
_Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone_"

Elton John- Rocketman

Sirius almost choked on his morning coffee when he saw Witch Weekly among his morning press stacked on the table.

_Witch Weekly, issue #4944, October 3rd 1994._

**SIRIUS BLACK FOR THE 9TH YEAR IN A ROW IS THE WINNER OF THE AWARD FOR THE MOST CHARMING SMILE OF THE WITCH WEEKLY MAGAZINE!**

Below the title was his photo from Black Family Charity Ball in January. It was the moment he waved and smiled to Dorcas who just entered the room.

He was in an elegant robe with a neck closure and his hair was plaited into a long braid. The light reflected in the silver earring that he had in his left ear. Behind his back stood Remus and rolled his eyes laughing.

He was about to discard the newspaper in disgust, but he stopped and looked closer at the picture. He covered his mouth in horror.

"When did I get so grey?" he threw the question into the air. Admittedly it wasn't that bad. Grey caught him at the temples, leaving long, bright hair strands. On the one hand, it gave some refined character to his appearance, on the other his vain soul was crying.

"Kiki!" he called into the room. With a loud crack a small house elf wearing a colourful pillowcase appeared. She bowed and asked:

"Does Master Sirius need anything from Kiki?"

He lifted the newspaper with the cover toward her and asked miserably:

"Why?"

Kiki's face brightened with joy and she replied:

"Master looks handsome on the photo. And there's a fragment saying that master's aunt will be coming here from a far."

"What? Which aunt? I thought they were all dead." he started to browse the pages for any name he knew.

"They say that Lady Dorea will be visiting soon. Page twelve."

"Dorea? Why for? I thought she wanted to run away from all this bullshit our family is doing..." he stopped and sighed. "Bugger."

"What's wrong master?"

"I'm afraid I know why Dorea comes back..." he finally found the little note at page twelve.

**_VISIT FROM AFAR?_**

**_Witch weekly's sources seem to confirm the imminent visit of a long-lost permanent visitor of the salons- Dorea Potter née Black (70). Couple of weeks ago Lady Potter applied for permission for a permanent international Floo network connection between her estate in the States and her former home in Yorkshire._**

**_Rumors say that Lady Potter will visit us in the company of her daughter, active politician at MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) Mia Potter (27). For two years now, Miss Potter has been a Senior Consultant for Magical Sentient Beings. Her struggle for the recognition of rights and social help for werewolves caused her a lot of supporters and enemies at the same time. Her skilful campaign for the cause ended in series of reforms improving the living standards of werewolves in the US._**

**_What is the reason for the visit and will it turn into a longer stay? We'll probably find out soon!_**

"Oh Merlin..." If anyone ever thought that his mother was a terrifying woman; Dorea Potter was the pith and marrow of everything that was deadly in the Black women. She was a Slytherin through and through. Ambitious and cunning, would eradicate every threat to her family and herself without blinking. And she always got what she wanted.

He didn't even know that she had a daughter after Damien's death.

Damien was his contemporary, they've never met each other but Walburga made sure they knew all the gossip about his great aunt's son. She maybe thought that the things she told him and Regulus about would revolt them. Like going to school with muggle-borns and having muggle friends. But it only made Sirius jealous of this foreign boy who was so similar and yet so different from him. Then something happened when they were both seven. Damien died in an accident. He never knew what accident but one day he was there and the other he was just gone.

Then he stopped listening to his mother altogether and it was the possible reason why he did not know about Dorea' and Charlus' Potter's daughter.

Dorea wrote to him occasionally when he was in Hogwarts and never mentioned the girl. Later when Voldemort was in the peak of his power she stopped, likely not wanting to engage in the conflict, even by accident.

She was twenty-seven. That meant they had her right away after Damien's death.

Twenty-seven-year-old Senior Consultant. With a history of successful reforms. That bode for something more than matrimonial plans.

Hopefully.

He tried to push through his Werewolf Act for 4 years now, without success so far. He had supporters in the Wizengamot, but he had strong enemies too. And werewolves didn't have a good press thanks to individuals like Fenrir Greyback still running loose.

"Great." he murmured. He could only hope that this time the chaos would not follow Dorea as it usually followed the members of his family.

•••

The Ministry was in shambles for the last few weeks since riots at the Quidditch World Cup.

Sirius felt uneasy; his guts told him that it was only a preludial. He really wanted to believe in Cornelius Fudge's ensuring that they were ordinary vandals feasting of fear that the Death Eaters masks caused. But he had to admit Barty Crouch for the first time in his life; they were not ordinary vandals. They were the Death Eaters.

The Triwizard Tournament loomed over his thoughts from the day of the riots. It all lined up too well for his taste.

Drumstrang backed off last minute from the negotiations so Crouch had to look feverishly for the third contestant. To their luck Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry came forward and agreed to come all the way from States.

It wasn't part of the tradition but given the amount of galleons that went already into organising the event the Ministry was willing to compromise.

Ludo Bagman came to his office to give reports about the Tournament and each of its stages. Sirius insisted on tripling the security; he paid from his pocket and waved of all Crouch's questions.

Sirius pressured Dumbledore to hire Mad-Eye Moody for the DADA open vacancy this year. He begged Moody to agree. The retired Auror grumbled for a long time but agreed in the end with a simple "You owe me a one, Black".

But he still felt on edge. He wrote to Harry once a week to check on him. He nagged Fabian Prewett who replaced Moody as the Head of the Auror Department for reports. It got to the point that Fabian flipped a bird at him every time he saw him and walked the other way.

He had a feeling.

And he still replayed Pandora's Prophecy in his head.

Over and over.

Thirteen years passed this year.

He had an upper hand on this; he was the only person who knew that that prophecy even existed.

After Pandora died, he felt lost. She was a confidante, a friend and a sensitive soul that lit the darkness lurking in his soul.

Her sudden death broke him. He spent a few weeks wandering around Australian beaches. Harry who was in Hogwarts at the time, worried about him, but Sirius answered his letters assuring him that everything was fine. He just needed time.

He returned to the UK after a few weeks with a calmer heart, a cleaner head and he made sure Luna and Xenophilius did not lack anything.

He was the last one; the only man who knew about the existence of this prophecy and its content.

And he did not know what to do next.

"Sirius!"

He turned on his heel to see Marlene striding toward him on her thin stilettos with a stack of rolled preachments. Her long blonde hair curled around her face making few wizards turn heads after her in the crowded, busy Atrium of the Ministry. Fireplaces under the walls burst over and over again with green fire, paper planes flew over their heads with a whistle and employees and petitioners ran back and forth. Here and there, a single owl flew with a hollow whistle.

"McKinnon, my dear, how is it possible that you do not trip on these toothpicks?" he asked, to which she laughed, throwing her head back and sending a handful of her hair in the face of a wizard carrying empty, brass cauldron.

"Stabilizing spell! They're super comfy! I've got the report you've asked about." she handed him two thick rolls from her stack and looked at him tilting her head. "Long story short: there's a big aggregation of Giants in the country's south-eastern woods. It's the first noted migration in 12 years. Are you going to this fancy opening tonight?" she added the question on one breath.

"What opening?" he asked still not paying much attention. Admittedly, the number of various invitations and proposals which he received, caused that only about ten percent even reached his consciousness.

"Narcissa's new place. Remus said he talked to you about it."

Of course, he remembered about the opening of Narcissa's place. They prepared for it for weeks now.

Finally, he shrugged. It was better that she was convinced that he forgot.

Marlene laughed and patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"You should loosen up sometimes, Mr. Important."

"The world won't fix itself, Marly." he said scanning through one of the reports she gave him.

"It wouldn't crumble if you would stop frowning for an evening or two."

He was about to answer when one of the fireplaces on the other side of the Atrium exploded with emerald-purple flames that meant an international Floo connection just opened. It caught his attention long enough for him to recognize the person entering.

An older witch with a storm of curly hair which was already greyer than chestnut, came out of the smoke. She was dressed in elegant black robes and everything in her, from the attitude to the way she moved, screamed 'pure-blood'. Behind her back flames bursted again.

"Eh, shit." he sighed. Marlene followed his gaze.

"Who's that?"

"That's my great-aunt."

"Your family from States?"

"Not so much of a family now, but yes." he sighed again when his eyes connected with his aunt's gaze. He straighten himself summoned a polite grimace adding: "Here she comes. Merlin, I'm so much not looking for a wife right now..."

"What?" Marlene's eyes widened.

"Don't ask. Please, Marly. I will go to this party tonight if you help me now..." he would go anyway, but why not kill two birds with one stone?

"Sirius! Merlin, how you've grown up!" Dorea called with a hearty smile that summoned the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. Sirius was ready to greet her with a kiss in his hand, as the etiquette demanded, but the witch spread her arms and embraced him heartily. "You are so handsome! Incredible! I haven't seen you forever!" She squeezed him even harder with strength surprising for her age and posture.

"Aunt Dorea! You look amazing as always. Blood from how many virgins it takes to look so young?" Sirius gasped still in the iron grip of his aunt.

Marlene stood beside and hiding her laughter, she watched the whole incident. Sirius threw her a dirty look and she snorted quietly.

"Mommy, give the man a room to breathe."

Sirius felt that all the air that he still had in his lungs escaped completely from him and in the same time his heart flickered rapidly like a caged bird.

He knew that voice.

And when he turned his head in his direction, it also turned out that he knew those eyes, hair and even the freckles covering the cheeks and nose of the girl standing next to Marlene.

She had a storm of curly brown hair and golden-brown skin. She was small which was further emphasized by a black, fitted costume with fine, white stripes. Her arms were covered with a short ruby-colored travel cloak that matched her shoes and a stone-studded cuff that collected the hair from her face.

She stood there with a mocking smile twisting her small, full lips and her hands on her hips.

She stood there like they've just meet yesterday not thirteen years ago.

It clicked. That piece of the puzzle finally clicked and fell into the place.

She was there.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Dorea let go of him and stretched her hand to Marlene. "Dorea Potter."

"Marlene McKinnon."

"Mia Potter."

They exchanged shakes between each other. Mia extended her hand to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Black."

He quickly hid his turmoil and put on his face the expression of polite indifference. But he was sure that he was not able to hide the intensity of his gaze.

She had to be adopted.

One thing all Blacks had in common was that they all had grey eyes.

They could have different skin tones, hair, figure. But the shape and colour of the eyes has always been the same. The grey beginning with the shade resembling sky at a cloudy winter morning, to a dark one like storm clouds on a summer day.

Her eyes were dark-amber and had something feline in them. And something guarded. Like she didn't want anyone to see their true expression.

He felt his hair prick on his neck.

He took her hand and bent down to brush the top of it with his lips.

"Please, without the ceremonials. We are family after all."

She answered only smiling slightly. There was something arrogant in her, incredibly resembling Dorea.

He held her gaze gently raising his eyebrow.

"How long will you be staying here, Lady Potter?" Marlene asked trying to ignore the strange staring contest between him and the younger Miss Potter.

"Oh, I'm staying for a week, darling. Mia on the other hand is going to stay here longer."

"Yes. I came to take the position of an Independent Consultant for relations between the MACUSA and M.o.M."

"Wow." Marlene eyes widened. "Congratulations! That's a very prestigious position."

"Thank you. I'm looking forward to working here." Mia said with a professionally polite expression.

"For sure, your experience will be very useful. For four years I've been trying to push my Werewolf Act. I've read you have quite the experience when it comes to this." Sirius said still watching her closely; everything in her attitude spoke about distance and indifference, but still he caught her uncertain, curious glances in his direction.

She smiled politely.

"I'm sure we can look up your project and think about a good strategy, Lord Black."

He almost gritted his teeth, hearing his title again.

Marlene gasped quietly. Sirius looked at her and to his horror noticed the playful smile and malicious glint in her eye.

He opened his eyes wide, giving her a warning look.

_Marlene, NO!_

"I have an idea! Me and Sirius, we are going today with our friends to an opening of a new restaurant on Diagon Alley. There will be a nice banquet and an opportunity for you to make up for this lost time. Lady Potter, Miss Potter, do you have time to meet us there tonight?"

Dorea clasped her hands together with a similar malicious glint in her eyes and said:

"That's a wonderful idea, Miss McKinnon! Would you kindly owl me the details? We will be staying in an apartment on the Diagon Alley in a hotel next to Gringotts."

Sirius idly wondered how many years in Azkaban he could get for suffocating a Ministry official in the middle of the Atrium.

He felt her eyes on him.

One thing he could be sure of; it will be a very interesting evening.

•••

"What were you thinking? Marlene for fuck's sake!"

"Oh, quiet. Your aunt seems very charming. Her daughter seems to have a little pin in the ass but the way she looked at you ... oh, boy!"

They marched along the empty corridor on the first level of the Ministry toward Marlene's office. Sirius threw Muffliato to give them any privacy; he did not necessarily want anyone from the Ministry to know about his family drama.

"You don't understand..."

"I understand more than you think, I understand that since you took over the title, you live in your office. Remus is worried sick and so am I…"

"I know her." Sirius hissed interrupting her rant. She broke off with an offended face and he continued. "It's complicated. But if I'm right I don't know if her being here it's a particularly good thing."

They reached Marlene's office, and as soon as they were inside, she slammed the door shut and leaned against it with an expectant face.

"Talk."

"It's not the place and nor the time." Sirius sat on the chair in front of her desk and combed his hair with his fingers; a few strands slipped out of his hair-strap. "I either lose my sanity or something completely impossible happens. And honestly I do not know what I would prefer."

"Should I be worried? Should we all be worried right now?" she looked worried already.

"About me? You know that I can handle my insanity. About other things..." he looked at her with a tired face. "I will try to warn you in advance."

•••

He left Marlene's office with a plan already in mind and headed towards the Great Archives located on the same floor.

Two hours and one owl later he found himself on the second floor where Department of Magical Law Enforcement was. The Ministry was deserted because of the lunch-time hours.

He saw Fabian the moment he left the elevator; he just rounded the corner saw Sirius, turned on his heel and turned back where he came from.

Sirius has sped up but when he rounded the corner of the corridor Fabian was nowhere to be seen.

He looked around making sure nobody would see him and he turned into Padfoot.

He took long sniff on the fragment of the floor where Fabian stood earlier. The redhead's cologne was horrible for his sensitive dog nose but it was so distinctive that he could might as well have left a path of dog treats behind him.

He followed the trail into one of the doors, which judging on the smell was the bathroom. He hooked his pawn on the handle and opened the door.

The bathroom was full of smells.

He sniffed around the stalls and until his nose led him to the last one. He did not see any feet underneath the door. But his nose was always right.

He turned back into his human form, straighten his clothes and knocked on the stall's door. When he didn't get any response pointed his wand at it making it open with a loud bang.

Fabian shouted and jumped which looked comically with his height, build and bushy beard. He stood on the closed lid of the toilet.

"Hello stranger." Sirius leaned over the doorframe.

"Should I run?" Fabian grumbled.

"Given how fast I found you I would say it's pointless. Have a minute?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

Fabian came down from the toilet and waved for Sirius to follow him.

They walked in silence, passing through empty corridors until they reached the Auror Headquarters. The open space there didn't change that much since Sirius worked there. The atmosphere seemed a little more light-hearted. He saw a familiar spiky hair in a bubblegum-pink colour in his old cubicle.

"Tonks!" he called and waved.

His cousin turned on her chair to look at him and knocked off the ink bottle on her desk. She swore loudly and started to quickly siphon the mess off with her wand.

"Sirius, fuckin' Merlin pants. Don't do this!"

Fabian grumbled something unflattering about them "and their bloody family causing havoc" and pointed at his office. The space looked more personal than when Moody occupied it. There were photos of Fabian's family; his nephews and niece, Molly and Arthur. Him and Gideon. Friends and fellow Aurors. But the wanted posters, the photos, the evidence and reports scattered around were all the same.

Sirius closed the door and leaned on it, when Fabian leaned on his desk. They looked at each other expectantly as if they tried to decide which one of them should break the silence.

Their relationship was bumpy. They liked and respected each other and they shared similar goals but the paths they choose to achieve them couldn't be any different.

Fabian knew that Sirius very often balanced on the edge between legal and very illegal when it came to business...and dealing with dark magic and it's practitioners.

There were numerous cases when some dark wizards investigated by the Aurors just...vanished. Right after they found evidence against them and right before they could arrest them.

Fabian could suspect. But he couldn't prove anything. And at first, he was terrified by the sadistic glint in Sirius eyes he saw every time he mentioned the disappearances. But with time he just accepted the fact that the less he knew the simpler his life was.

"Okay. What is so important, Black?" Fabian finally lost his patience.

"24th June 1981. Cottesbrooke. We were ambushed by Death Eaters and we would probably die that day if it wasn't for..."

"The Smoke-girl." Fabian finished tugging at his beard deep in thought. "Why now, ey? You were thinking about ol' shitty times?"

"She's back."

Fabian stilled.

"What?"

Sirius shrugged; he wouldn't believe it either if he didn't saw her with his own eyes.

"Where? Who is she? Do you know who she is? Why she's back?" Auror started spitting questions one after another, until Sirius lifted his hand making him stop.

"Listen. I came here only to warn you. I want to take care of it personally and on my terms. I don't want you to act harsh and arrest her on the spot. Or approach her, or even acknowledge her at all."

"Now you're asking?" The redhead huffed. "I know exactly that you're not asking in other cases. Why now?"

"She's my family."

"You...your family?"

"She's my great aunt's adoptive daughter. They just came here from the States."

He saw Fabian rolling that statement in his mouth and trying to visualize the degree of kinship Sirius is talking about.

"So she's basically not your family."

"Yes but actually no."

A moment of silence.

"I'm lost."

"She's a daughter of an influential, pure-blood witch. And she's pretty successful herself. She's twenty-seven and it doesn't make any sense for her to be the one we are looking for. She would be... fourteen then. But I'm 99% sure it's her. I just need a proof. And I need to know on which side she is."

"And how are you going to do it, Black?"

"My aunt would slaughter the whole ministry if we even suggested that the girl is dipped in some shady business. Family first, Tojus Pur, and all that jazz."

"Tojus Pur my ass..."

"No. Fabian. No. Trust me on this one. You don't want to begin something you won't be able to finish." Sirius said sharply. "She will have your carrier, your reputation and your ass on her plate the moment you will open your ugly mug to her daughter. Unless you will court her. Then she will probably be pleased. But not too much...no offence but you're not influential enough."

"What the fuck you are talking about?"

"The girl... Mia Potter, came here to take a high position in the DoIMC. It will be announced on days. My aunt on the other hand came here to look for suitors." his head started to hurt. "I'm not sure if my cousin applauds the matrimonial part of her being her... but it's not the point."

"So what's the point?"

"The point is...that you must trust me on this one and do not act until I ask. Okay?"

"I'm really afraid now, Black, to be honest."

Sirius shrugged and broke away from the door.

"To be honest with you?" Sirius asked opening the door. "You should be."

He headed to the last stop he had to do that day.

•••

Remus looked at him like he lost his mind.

"You want me to travel tomorrow to States to do what? Spy on your cousin?"

"Have you listened to me, at all, for the last half hour?"

"I did and I still don't know what I'm supposed to do."

They were alone in Remus's bookshop.

'Sticks and stones' was quite a strange name for Sirius, but when Remus explained that it was a phrase from the popular Muggle nursery rhyme for children his mother had taught him, he admitted it was a good name for the werewolf's dream space.

The interior was quiet and filled with a gentle light coming through the skylights on the ceiling and seeping through the plants hung under the sling. The air smelled like old books, ferns and sun. This was Remus's place. It was a perfect reflection of his character and Sirius always felt at home there.

Their relationship has evolved over the years and after another unsuccessful attempt at a relationship they had just after Sirius and Harry returned to England, they decided that it did not make sense.

But their friendship continued to make sense and they became closer to each other than ever before. Being the last Marauders, being the last friends from a pack that was closer than many families, Sirius knew that if not for Remus, he would probably feel like the loneliest wizard in the world.

Sirius sighed heavily and took a sip of coffee from his mug and he sank deeper into his armchair.

"What's happening Padfoot?"

"Promise you won't think I'm insane..."

The werewolf chuckled lightly.

"I already think you're crazy."

"So I guess I've got nothing to lose..." Sirius mumbled clearly too tired to even acknowledge the jab. "I've told you about the girl from Cottesbrooke. But I haven't told you what she told me that day. And really it's something that's been haunting me for years now..."

When he finished his story, Remus sat for a moment and thoughtfully swayed the last of his tea in a cup. Finally he asked:

"Can I ask you something? Just do not get pissed off, okay?" when his friend nodded, he continued. "You didn't think that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy? Not the rat part, that was very recent then and too specific. But the Lord part... How could she know that?"

"Are you saying she just shot?"

"I'm saying that it was impossible to predict such an outcome. And she was what? Fourteen then? You see a fourteener doing things like that and ending that with an accurate prophecy of your future?" Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Remus shook his head. "I don't deny that it's her. I see that you have no doubts about it and I trust you. I just wonder how she knew all of this, how she did all of this and what her predictions really meant."

"Welcome to the club. I've been obsessing over it for over a decade." he felt Remus eyes when he tugged nervously at a loose thread at his sleeve.

"There is something else, right? What is it?"

"I felt strange around her today Moony..." He tilted his head back so that the warm rays of the autumn sun would fall on his face; he often missed the Australian heat. British autumn came every year and only reminded him of death. "I know I should be careful now. My mind gives me all the worst scenarios. As for my feelings ... I really thought that my heart would pop out of my chest when I saw her."

"It sounds like you had a mild heart attack." Remus quipped at which Sirius growled.

"Look at you, being so fucking, funny..."

"You're not getting younger, you know?"

"We're the same age."

"Werewolves live longer."

"So do Veelas. And I will look like a thirty-something to my sixties." Sirius smirked but almost immediately frowned. "Remus, I don't know what to do. I feel that something pulls me to her. And I'm scared. I wanted to change into Padfoot and run around her like a stupid puppy."

It seemed to him that Remus's eyes flashed yellow as he said it. But as suddenly as he saw it, it was gone, so Sirius put it on the crab of his imagination.

"And you say it was your second meeting ever?" The werewolf asked and when Sirius nodded, he hummed thoughtfully. "That's interesting, really."

"What?"

"Nothing." Remus smiled. "I will go. Get me a letter of recommendation from Fabian, I could need it to get to some files."

_That was...strangely easy._

"Just like that?"

Remus shrugged.

"Just like that. I'm now quite curious of her myself. But I do not do it for free." he finished with a smile of self-satisfaction.

"Say your price, flea-ball." Sirius waved his hand dismissively.

"You cover for me in the shop for seven days. And I can use them whenever I want...ball-licker." Remus reached to him and Sirius shook his outstretched hand and said with a hint of mock indignation.

"Oi! It was one time, we were sixteen, drunk and James dared me."

When Remus began to laugh, Sirius maintained his insulted face only for a moment only to let himself burst with barking laughter.

•••

That Lord Black wasn't the same Sirius Black Mia remembered.

Where Sirius Black was cool and easy, Lord Black was serious and unapproachable.

Where Sirius Black was impulsive and reckless, Lord Black was unmoved and calculating.

Where Sirius Black was a passionate, flirty gallant, Lord Black was closed and almost unpleasant.

He was still absurdly handsome. Even more so when he did not serve twelve years in Azkaban. He did not have this rough charm that she saw in her distorted by the vapours of puppy-infatuation memories. He looked like the pure-blooded nobleman he was in every possible inch.

Lord Black looked like everything Sirius Black despised.

He looked like a dangerous opponent and a man who crushed his rivals without blinking an eye.

He looked like someone who Hermione Granger would avoid at all costs.

And like someone Mia Potter would like to know more closely.

She threw herself on the bed in her rooms the Chimera Hotel they stayed. It was old-fashioned, expensive and not much to Mia's taste. But the bed was comfy and that should be enough until the house from her mother's dowry in Yorkshire was brought to a state that satisfied her.

She stretched herself lazily and waved her wand summoning the newspapers she picked on her way to the hotel. She picked up the Daily Prophet, The Quibbler and after a second of hesitation the Witch Weekly. When Dorea sent her a strange look she shrugged embarrassed and said:

"What? A witch gotta know."

She looked at the cover; there title and date from 4 days ago:

_Witch Weekly, issue #4944, October 3rd 1994._

**SIRIUS BLACK FOR THE 9TH YEAR IN A ROW IS THE WINNER OF THE AWARD FOR THE MOST CHARMING SMILE OF THE WITCH WEEKLY MAGAZINE!**

She smirked; she should check if Gilderoy Lockhart was a thing in this life-time.

Lord Black from the cover waved to someone off frame with an easy smile. A definitely less ragged and scarred Remus Lupin stood in the background, rolling his eyes with a hearty smile; he looked younger and happier than she remembered.

But it was Lord Black who stole the shot and all the attention. His black hair was long and plaited in a smooth braid hanging over his arm. He wore an elegant black robe with a stand-up collar and small buttons. A small silver ring gleamed in his left ear.

He looked younger than Sirius Black; with his prominent cheekbones and sharp smoothly shaven jawline. And Lord Black indeed _had_ a charming smile. His grey eyes framed with long, black lashes were big and slightly almond in shape; she saw those eyes and their shade in different ranges in multiple different people, her mother included. But this grey resembled smoke you see over fire.

His entire image seemed to be thought out and calculated. Even today when she met him by chance at the Ministry's Atrium; perfect smart-casual outfit. Fabric trousers, shirt, cardigan and simple shoes; all perfectly tailored, all of the highest quality.

Lord Black looked and felt to her like a very elaborate and complicated façade to something else.

At that moment, she wasn't able to tell what the facade was supposed to hide.

But she knew she would find out very soon.


	4. Chapter 2- Shut up and dance

"_Oh don't you dare look back_  
_Just keep your eyes on me_  
_I said you're holding back_  
_She said shut up and dance with me_  
_This woman is my destiny_  
_She said oh oh oh_  
_Shut up and dance with me_"

Walk the Moon- Shut up and Dance

* * *

The evening could not have come faster.

Sirius stood in front of a large mirror in the bedroom of his London home, looking at himself.

He collected his hair in a typical for him braid. As for the outfit, he decided that the occasion would allow him to give up his dress robes in favour of a more Muggle outfit: black chino pant s and a black shirt with rolled up sleeves revealing tattoos on his forearms.

He felt like a kid getting ready for his first date.

Only that his not-girlfriend was potentially dangerous, he was no longer a kid, but an influential magnate, and this meeting was not a date, but a reconnaissance.

He spent months. No. _Years_. He spent years thinking about her and her impact on his life. He spent years fantasizing who she is. He spent years thinking about whether he really wants to know the truth.

He was sure of one thing; he owed her a debt. A debt of gratitude, probably even life. Her enigmatic advice directed him to the path he was following now.

...**_thorny path_**...

For some time now he suspected that she was 'The One Who Walks In-between' Pandora's prophecy mentioned. Of course, he couldn't be sure. But the longer he thought about it, the more sense it had.

And if he was right, it meant Voldemort's imminent return.

Sirius followed the disturbing movements of the Death Eaters for several months already. Every time he thought he had reached the core of their activity, it turned out that their hierarchy had so many layers and levels that he did not even brushed against the surface.

He even went to Dumbledore asking for Order's reactivation. But the old man just brushed him politely off, claiming he keeps tabs over all alarming events in Hogwarts and outside.

Sirius of course didn't trust Dumbledore enough to just leave everything in his hands, to be the puppet master he always wanted to be.

He turned his family ring around his finger thoughtfully.

He had his narrow circle of trusted people he was sure of. There were a handful of them, but at least there was no risk of being betrayed. Anyway, he was sure that if he tried to call the Order of the Phoenix, bypassing Dumbledore's authority, the old members of the Order would simply ignore his call.

"Dad? You there?" Harry's voice snatched him out of his reverie. He went to the table by the window and picked up a small round mirror in a silver frame just to see his son's face.

Harry ceased to be a kid and entered teenage age. His face lost its childish roundness and began to gain sharper features. The dishevelled black hair fell on his forehead, covering a partially silvery lightning-like scar.

"I'm here. What's up?" Sirius asked with a smile that immediately dimmed when he saw Harry's worried expression. "What's wrong, son?"

"I...I mean..." the boy stuttered, took a deep breath and started again. "I wanted to ask you about something. Because...there's a girl..." he looked embarrassed out of his mind. Sirius felt immediate relief and did not even restrain the smile that came to his lips.

"A girl you say, ey?" he asked teasingly.

"Stuff it, dad." Harry grumbled. "Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not laughing. I'm happy." Sirius said reassuringly. "Will you tell me about her?"

"She's...smart and pretty and cool...I guess. I like her." Harry looked at him with pinched eyebrows. "But I don't know how to talk to her!" he blurted quickly. "How do you do it? Does it ever get easier?"

"I just talk to them kid."

"But it's so easy for you! I can't even say a full sentence properly when I see her..."

Sirius leaned against the windowsill; he hesitated, formulating an answer to this statement. He knew why it came so easy to him.

While reviewing documents enclosed in his family's vault, he accidentally learned where his ease in winning people came from. That was something his family clearly wanted to hide from the rest of the Wizarding World with a passion but of course it left some traces in papers. And in his mother's diary.

The moment when he learned that Orion Black was not his biological father was the moment in which he strongly doubted whether he would be able to finish his work of cleansing the Black lineage from secrets and infamous opinions. The moment when it turned out that his father was a half Veela was another blow. And many things started to make sense.

Romantic success in both genders for which he never asked, his ease in establishing contacts, his ease in getting exactly what he wanted from others... his mother disgust against him, his father's indifference, why he had felt different from his family since he remembered.

When he recovered from the first shock, he began to look for information. About his father, about Veela's legacy, about what it all entailed. He managed to find other hybrids and learned that the part that charmed others is something that can be controlled. The full-blooded Veelas didn't do it; it was part of their nature and identity so they didn't even bothered.

One thing he never found out: what his biological father's name was. This was the secret that Walburga Black took with her to the grave with any information about her indecent relationship with the man.

This case not only explained to him some parts of his life, but also made him realize that, after all, his identity related to blood and family ties was greater than he wanted to admit even to himself. For a long time, he felt as if someone had pulled the rug from under his feet.

In the end, for almost all his life, things were immutable; Earth circling around the sun, cats being little fuckers, Remus being an old man in the body of a young person, and he? He was always a Black.

"Listen, if I've learned anything about talking to people you like, it's just talk to them like any other person." he said finally. "Believe me, it's the best thing to talk with someone who shows genuine interest in the things you say. But never pretend just to be liked by someone. If you do not think the other person is interesting, just leave it. It isn't honest and it isn't fair to you and the other person."

Harry nodded but looked unconvinced.

"I just...really like her, dad. And I think she likes me...when I talk with her, I feel she likes me because of me...not because of..." he made a vague gesture towards his scar.

"That's good. That's how it supposed to feel." Sirius smiled. His son hesitated clearly before he asked:

"Did you ever felt anything like this? I mean...like you've met someone you feel a special connection with? Like you've known each other forever?"

This time Sirius hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to think about it to be honest.

"The closest I've got to something like this was with Remus." he admitted reluctantly.

"So why aren't you together anymore?"

"Sometimes it's not that simple. Besides your uncle loves Tonks."

"What?!" Harry's eyes became wide with surprise. "I didn't know!"

Sirius smirked.

"Because even Remus doesn't know this yet. I know them both well enough to see what's going on there." he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "Okay, I have to go. Don't tell Draco about our furry friends' heart problems. I don't want Cissa to know, she's too nosy, and she's a shit matchmaker."

Harry laughed and nodded.

"Have fun tonight dad. Hug everyone from me."

"Sure thing. Let me know how it went with that girl."

"Love you dad!"

"I love you too."

•••

He looked over at the main hall in the restaurant from one of the alcoves.

He saw Narcissa leading Dorea and her daughter inside, smiling, like the prefect host she was. Dorea wore a black dress robe and a refined pointy hat laying a little askew on her shiny hair.

Mia on the other hand wore crimson, fitting dress and black mantle with kimono sleeves embroidered in golden flowers. Her hair swinged in a high, messy ponytail.

_Merlin, she's pretty._

Sirius flinched slightly at the thought.

_No. Absolutely._

Not the place, not the time, not the person.

"You only need a mask and I would call it a perfect Phantom of The Opera reincarnation." Remus leaned over the entrance to the alcove with a mocking smile. "Don't look at her too intensely, or I'm ready to think you've fallen in love or something."

"It's more of an obsession than anything else." Sirius murmured still watching young Miss Potter. Dorea and Narcissa left her beside the snack table where she stood with a bored expression and a champagne glass in one hand.

"Try not to be creepy about it." the werewolf said turning to leave and laughed when Sirius growled at him.

She stood a little aloof, clearly watching the dynamics of the party and sipping champagne.

There was Corban Yaxley talking to Barty Crouch Senior. Nearby the Prewett Twins stood argued over the snack table. Sirius noted with satisfaction that Fabian didn't even blink when his eyes catched Mia in the crowd.

He saw Thadeus Avery looking around the crowd with an unpleasant expression; his dark eyes and earthy complexion made him look like a dead fish.

He also caught a glimpse of Rita Skeeter's atrocious platinum-blond locks. Sirius smirked; a perfect setting for his plans tonight.

He looked at the corner of the room where beside an ornate chocolate fountain stood Stephan Mulciber and Caleb Nott discussing something heatedly; probably something regarding Mia given how often Nott threw lingering glances in her direction.

He watched as Nott waved Mulciber off dismissively and walked towards Mia leaning over his cane.

Sometimes Sirius regretted that he only made him walk a cane and didn't just blow that fucker's leg off.

He watched as Nott approached Mia and started talking to her with a curtly smile. She looked at him with interest until he said something that made her eyes cold and expression distant.

Sirius thought that this is his cue. He turned into Padfoot and rushed down the stairs, turning into his human form just before he approached the exit to the brightly lit main hall. He whisked away a few invisible specks from his clothes and went on.

"Call me Caleb, please, I believe we will see each other often enough to skip polite formulas."

"...I'm here to work and expand my knowledge, Caleb." she said in an inert tone.

"And this is all the more intriguing. I'm looking forward to working with you...Mia." he bowed his head. "I hope that you will establish only beneficial alliances here. I think that you will quickly realize that the environment here is quite polarized."

Sirius felt a shiver run down his spine.

"What do you mean?" she asked with disinterest.

Nott smiled in a predatory skin-crawling way.

"Worldview, socially and politically. Recently, with a group of my old friends, we are working on a certain project. I hope that our case will interest you…"

"Really, Caleb? You are tormenting Miss Potter with work at a party? And they call me a workaholic!" She turned to face him with a pretty smile.

_Too pretty._

"And what alternative would you suggest to Miss Potter, Sirius?"

"Given that I do not need a walking cane, I would say..." he could have sworn that she heard Caleb Nott grit his teeth at that allusion. "...maybe a dance?" he extended his hand to her with a small smile and he could see her reserve melt a little bit when she returned the smile.

She took his hand and threw an apologetic smile at Nott.

He led her to the dancefloor. He placed his hand on her back, she put her hand on his shoulder, and their free hands finally met. She still was half a head shorter than him in her killer heels. She moved elegantly and gracefully; like a woman who, since her childhood, had undergone innumerable dance lessons. Her big eyes looked at him with something between curiosity and distrust.

"That was incredibly rude of you. Pointing out the poor man his impairments." She scolded him quietly at which he scoffed and shook his head.

"Given that he walks this cane thanks to me, I think it doesn't matter so much right now."

"You did this?" Mia looked at him with big eyes.

"Yes. That charming fellow there was a Death Eater. He avoided Azkaban because he knew how to pretend convincingly that he was Imperiused." Sirius looked at her with a mocking smile. "But you know that already, don't you?"

"I don't know what are you talking about."

"Really? So you don't know why I asked you to the dancefloor and arranged that perfect opportunity to talk without any suspicion?" he asked with a taunt in his voice.

"Oh, so it's an elaborate plan to talk to me privately?" she arched an eyebrow. "Everybody's looking at us, you know?"

"The most discreet place is usually in the spotlight, love."

"It sounds like you've had some experience." she threw a glance around the dancefloor. "So, Nott is a Death Eater. How many of them is here right now?"

"Hard to tell." Sirius admitted. "Not counting the obvious bad guys of course."

She laughed at that.

"Oh right. Because you can tell who's a bad guy. Someone could count you as one of them as well, you know?" her hand slipped from his shoulder on his biceps. He felt her nails as they slid on his skin scratching him slightly through the sleeve. "A pretty face is nothing when you come from a family that was a stain on the fabric of this world." she said with a sweet smile.

"I've always been the first one to fail my parents' expectations." he said with a carefree smile. "Besides I don't think you would help me all those years ago if you thought that I would turn out to be a bad guy. Someone would think you know more than you let on...or it was a blind naivety on your part."

"People change. I only gave you the tools to draw your own path, I couldn't predict how it would end up." she looked at him quizzically and again he thought that he could so easily fall for these amber eyes. "I have my own plan on how to handle things this time."

"Which means?"

"You'll see." Mia smiled innocently again. "Can we stop talking about these horrible things and just dance?"

"I don't think we have the time to play games. All my sources suggest that."

"We don't have time?"

"Right now, I'm your best shot. All my resources are yours. Just ask."

"Bold of you to assume I will need help with anything, Sirius Black." he saw Rita Skeeter looking at them like a hawk so he strengthened his grip on her waist and spun her around only dip her lowly to the ground causing her to gasp.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Putting up a show." he said with a mischievous smile; he liked her reaction. She could act all the self-confident, seductive woman she liked. Caleb Nott and others would fall for this like a dream.

But Mia Potter never met Sirius Black.

She craned her neck to look back at upside-down Rita Skeeter with her hungry expression when she licked the tip of her green quill.

Sirius brought them back up and they swayed.

"Excellent. I'm not even here a day and already I will have this harpy on my neck." she complained with clear distaste.

"Don't worry. I may have some dirt on Rita... She knows she must be nice to me. And for you by extension."

"Somehow I doubt that she will have any mercy over me."

He spun her again.

"It is possible that you have not noticed but you are now dancing with the most powerful person in this room."

She laughed throwing her head back.

"Certainly, with the most humble."

"And handsome and brilliant..." he murmured with a smile. Sirius for a second almost forgot that it was not a date and they are not just two people who are infatuated with each other. Almost. "I can be a very useful ally. And I don't ask you to explain everything yet. Just a little trust and..."

"Listen...I've may helped you years ago and led you on this path you are right now." she interrupted him sharply; the moment passed and she was clearly angry. "But that doesn't change the fact that I don't know you right now. I don't know who you've became and what's your agenda."

She spun herself and let go of his hand. She curtsied politely and straighten herself to look him right in the eye.

"I don't have anything to say to you until you understand that I'm an equal partner not a subcontractor for one of your businesses. I have my own project and I plan to execute it." she curtsied again and added in a polite yet stiff tone. "Have a pleasant evening."

She passed him and he almost automatically grabbed her wrist. She looked at him with a questioning expression.

"Mia..." he cleared his throat and hesitated. He felt his stomach making flips at the thought of what he wanted to say next. "I'm in debt with you. And you know that that binds me both by magic and my family's name."

There was something in her eyes he couldn't quite place. She averted her gaze and bit her lips just to finally say:

"I know. And you will have to live with this until I decide to take my favour back."

And with that she left.

•••

The party died out after a few hours leaving Narcissa, Sirius, Remus and Tonks in one of the tables hidden in the alcoves.

Narcissa rubbed her eyes smudging her make-up a little, Tonks yawned loudly and Remus scanned over some roll od preachment. Sirius rocked his whisky in the tumbler listening as the ice inside clinked quietly; a deadly habit to which he returned this year.

"So...what's next?" Tonks asked finally.

"We wait." Remus said absentmindedly. "It was a quite successful evening...for most of us." he threw a careful glance at Sirius.

"It could be worse, Siri." Tonks patted his hand.

"It couldn't." he said in a distant voice. "She has her own plans. Fucking interesting, really."

"At least she confirmed that you two met already." Narcissa said weakly. "Dorea is fucking evil incarnated, I will be hungover for a week." she added with a groan.

"Right now, she's as big of a thread as Voldemort." Sirius said and threw back his whisky in one gulp. "At least we managed to gather a few tips." he stood up and looked at the rest of group intensely. "We wait."

"But for how long?" Narcissa asked, clenching her lips into a thin line.

"Fudge is acting like there's nothing wrong. Crouch thinks you are a Death Eater yourself and Dumbledore is sitting in his ivory tower acting all and mighty." Tonks counted on her fingers. "And from I've heard today serving snacks for Avery and Yaxley we don't have much time, Sirius. They're waiting for something big."

"We can't act harshly, Nymphadora." Remus said quietly without looking at the younger witch.

"Don't you 'Nymphadora' on me! You know it as well as I do." she huffed and her spiky hair turned angry red at the ends. "The longer we wait to call the Order back the worse it will be. They organize themselves right now as we speak!" she jumped to her feet and clearly furiously left the alcove. Sirius was almost sure that it was not completely related to the suspicious activities of the Death Eaters and more so with a certain hard-headed werewolf.

Narcissa stood up with and dramatic sigh.

"I'm going to sleep." she announced in a tired, dramatic voice. "Cousin. Remus." she nodded towards them and left. Again, Sirius was almost certain that she would go after Tonks and try to persuade her to have another glass of wine and some innocent rumours.

"You will blow it if you won't act soon." the Animagus said filling his tumbler again.

Remus looked at him with big eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"About Tonks being your mate."

Remus paled and put down the quill and preachment he held and shook his head.

"I wanted to tell you Sirius... But I didn' know how..."

"It's okay. I'm happy you found her." Sirius smiled, despite the awful feeling that weighed his heart at that moment. "I'm just tired of watching you two dance around each other. What's wrong Moony?" he asked seeing his friend look dully at his scarred hands.

"She's so young Sirius. Innocent. And yet...it's her. She feels it too...we talked about it." the werewolf mumbled. "I don't want her to waist her life with an old, broken man. Who additionally once a month turns into a monster."

"You were quite certain all those years ago that you want to find your mate..."

"It was years ago as you said yourself and I didn't expect that she's...she's too young, for Meriln's sake."

Sirius stretched in his chair and laughed grimly.

"Oh, my poor, naïve friend. If I can give you any advice when it comes to all of this, I have one." he took a sip of his whisky. "Act on it. You never know what will happen when the shit hits the fan next time...and then you can gravely regret what you didn't do..."

"Sirius..."

"Just be good to her Remus. Be the best version of yourself." Sirius downed his glass again and laughed hoarsely. "I know you can."


	5. Chapter 3- Daddy Lessons

_"Came into this world_  
_Daddy's little girl_  
_And daddy made a soldier out of me_  
_Oh, oh, oh_  
_Daddy made me dance_  
_And daddy held my hand_  
_And daddy liked his whisky with his tea_  
_And we rode motorcycles_  
_Blackjack, classic vinyl_  
_Tough girl is what I had to be_

_Daddy made me fight_  
_It wasn't always right_  
_But he said girl it's your second amendment, oh, oh, oh_  
_He always played it cool_  
_But daddy was no fool_  
_And right before he died he said remember_

_He said take care of your mother_  
_Watch out for your sister_  
_And that's when daddy looked at me_

_With his gun, with his head held high_  
_He told me not to cry_  
_Oh, my daddy said shoot_

_(…)_  
_He held in his arms_  
_And he taught me to be strong_  
_He told me when he's gone_  
_Here's what you do_  
_When trouble comes to town_  
_And men like me come around_  
_Oh, my daddy said shoot"_

Beyonce- Daddy Lessons

* * *

As Mia found out on Monday, that her new office at the Ministry that Crouch found for her wasn't as spacious and bright as she wished it to be.

She was used to luxury and to people treating her with due respect and could tell that Barty Crouch liked her, but thought about her like a silly little girly not a worthy co-worker.

She expected that from him and she wasn't even mad.

She also received an owl invitation from Caleb Nott for a lunch sometime next week. She could tell that he also disregarded her as a skilful politician.

She expected that from him and she wasn't even mad.

All this and more consisted of exactly the image of the British magical community she remembered; a back-watered, misogynistic shit-hole.

She expected that from them and she wasn't even mad.

What she didn't expect and what made her mad was that Lord Black apparently thought that she could be another pawn on his side of the board. That she would obey any plan and order that he came up with.

That made her mad.

Another thing that made her mad was how good she felt when dancing and simply talking to him. When he smiled, she could finally see Sirius Black in that strange man. There still was something carefree and appealing in him, almost boyish when he grinned at her mischievously putting up "the show" for Rita Skeeter.

He felt confident, unhesitating but also tender and careful when he held her.

_Like a real gentleman._ She thought cynically.

And before they parted that night; when he spoke about his debt there was something vulnerable in his eyes like he didn't like the thought of even saying at loud something like this.

She started to suspect that Lord Black was almost as damaged as Sirius Black though for other reasons. That broke her heart a little.

But she still was mad. And executing the first step of her plan was so much sweeter like this.

She looked around her office and frowned; it was dusty and the furniture looked like it was scratched by a cat in few places. There was a single half-dead plant on the windowsill and few ministerial manuals on the bookshelf.

Of course, it could have been worse. But she was taught to think about what could have been better.

Mia smiled thinking about the next days' Wizengamot sitting.

It will be fun.

But until then she got a whole day to waste.

She was in the middle of thinking what kind of colour she wanted on the walls when she heard a silent knock on the door.

"Come in!"

When she saw Sirius Black last week for the first time in thirteen years, she was ready; she knew that she would meet him for sure; he was a big part of her masterplan. She could be surprised by his appearance and behaviour but all in all she was ready to see him.

She supposed that she could mentally prepare more for seeing the Weasley siblings because seeing Percy on the doorstep of her office was like a punch to the stomach.

She realised that she totally forgot how 17-year old, freshly graduated from Hogwarts Percy looked like. With his neatly combed red hair, long, freckled nose and long arms and legs he looked so much like...

_No, no! Focus!_

She threw away that thought and focused on the swotty and arrogant air that Percy give off. She smirked at suspecting that he was very mad to be degraded from assisting the head of the department to assisting a foreign delegate.

"How can I help you?" she asked without standing from her place behind the desk. Percy cleared his throat and adjusted his grip on the pile of documents he held in his arms.

"I'm Percy Weasley, ma'am. Mister Crouch assigned me as your assistant."

"I want another assistant." she said lightly and almost smiled seeing Percy's face turning suddenly red.

"B-but Mister Crouch..."

"I don't care what Mister Crouch said." she waved her hand. "I'm a guest here, I can make requests and Mister Crouch has to obey them. Besides I need someone who wants to work for me on this prestigious position. It's very demanding and difficult." she added looking at her nails and frowning when she saw that her nail polish chipped in one place.

"But I'm the best!" Percy almost shouted and deflated immediately when he saw her sharp gaze.

"That's very easy to check...Wesaly."

"Weasley, ma'am."

"You want to work for me?" she asked with a serious tone. Percy straighten his back and nodded with such solemnity that Mia almost bursted out laughter.

_Always try to win over people with kindness and interest. Especially those ignored and underestimated._ Her father, Charlus Potter used to say. _The underdogs are always the most valuable allies and they will have your back when you will be in need._

"Okay, so tell me something about yourself."

"About myself?" he echoed blankly clearly crestfallen.

"Yes. What's your goal? What field you're interested in? Where you see yourself in five years?" she leaned her face against her joined hands and smiled. "I like to work with people who know what they want from their carrier."

Given the flash of worship she saw in Percy's eyes she suspected that no one ever asked him about this. And in that moment, she knew she won herself a valuable spy.

•••

The rest of the day passed on Percy giving her a tour around the Ministry.

He forced her to say that British Ministry had prettier building that MACUSA which wasn't true of course but she really didn't want to see again the "kicked puppy" eyes he gave her when she said that she doesn't like the fountain in the Atrium.

The only thing the tour give her were aching feet and a couple of horrible, gut-wrenching flashbacks from another life.

The fountain shattered.

Corpses laying around.

Departments of Mysteries execution room with The Veil bathed in a sickly pale light.

Dementors flying freely around.

Umbridge's damned screams.

Escaping from the courtroom with Death Eaters on their tail still with Mafalda Hopkirk's uncomfortable shoes and short legs.

Yaxley's iron grip on her arm.

She had to stick her nails into the palms of her hands to take her mind of the memories flooding her head while Percy happily blabbered telling some anecdotes.

Mia later saw Lord Black with the blond woman she met the first day back in UK, Marlene. They walked across the office space on the second floor talking in hushed tones. She could tell by their body language that they were close; he seemed to be more relaxed around her, and she didn't hesitate to touch him in that carefree way reserved for friends only.

At one moment he looked in her direction. Despite the smile and nod he gave her his eyes were guarded and cautious.

She couldn't recall much about the McKinnon family; she knew they were supposed to be dead for thirteen years now. But she managed to prevent that.

The bits and pieces of changed history she could observe now, after all these years were fascinating and quite dangerous for her cause. Of course, she knew that mending with history and fate was a risky thing; she suspected that nobody knew that as well as her. Finding out which events were independent and stayed uninfluenced by her doings was on her "To do" list.

And once again Sirius Black was on her short list of people who could help her with that.

And despite that cold restraint gave her, when she returned to her office to gather her coat and bag, she found a neat purple bundle of flowers in a small vase on her desk. There was no letter beside but the flowers themselves told her enough.

Purple hyacinths (_I'm sorry_.), and small purple, pink and white viscarias (_Will you dance with me?_).

She smiled touching the soft petals and wondered how he got into her office without triggering her alarm charm.

Mia knew she was being difficult. She could just go to him and admit that they needed each other's resources to beat Voldemort once and for all. But something in her gut told her that it was important for all of them for Sirius Black to trust her fully and respect her for real.

She knew she had to become almost a part of his little patched up family to gain that status and protection he spread over them. It was a strange thought for her...to be again a part of that family.

For twenty-seven years she subjected her whole life to save people who didn't even knew her anymore. She risked everything for people who were just a memory now.

Of course, she knew Ron was still Ron with his bratty attitude and awkward friendship. That Ginny was the feisty, confident girl that girls sleep-overs with were always so much fun. That Luna was that strange but sensitive and insightful girl she liked. And that Harry still was the gold-hearted, sweet boy he was.

He deserved better, and she gave him better already.

She gave him a father.

In last couple months she almost gave up the whole plan; with her father's funeral and Magnus begging her to stay, and even trying to convince her with an engagement ring, she was close to caving in. After all Harry had a guardian already; a ruthless and devoted parent.

But then the dream came and Mia promised herself that she would end it and then she will just work out her own life the way she wanted.

Because she still believed that this future was waiting for her. As soon as she will put down all the demons of Hermione Granger, Mia Potter will be able to follow her own path. And despite the fact that their paths converged in many places, there were still things that one did not even think of and which for the other was one of the goals.

But after a day full of memories that she would not even like to know, she came back to the hotel with nausea and head bursting with pain. After days like this one, she doubted whether any future was waiting for her. Is any future waiting for any of them.

Dorea found her hunched over the toilet vomiting violently. With a silent sigh she gathered the hair from her face and patiently waited until she finished. Then she held her in her arms waiting for her to stop sobbing.

"It's okay Mimi. It's going to be okay." she hummed.

"They will die mommy! They will be dead if I fail! We all will be dead if I fail!" Mia wept hysterically rocking slightly in her mother's arms.

"You won't fail, dear. You will do everything you can. And you will do great." Dorea said with force making her stop for a second. "You're our daughter, Mia. No one is a better person to do this. Thanks to you, they have a chance to win. We all have."

"What if I already made a mistake? What if I already ruined everything?" she asked looking at her mother with tear-streaked face and smudged make-up. Dorea smiled at her and wiped her face with the sleeve of her nightgown.

"Have a little faith in yourself, honey. You're the brightest witch of your age. No one achieved so much in so little time. I'm so proud of you." she wiped the fresh tears that ran down Mia's face with a tender smile. "Dad was always so proud of you. And he was sure that you would achieve everything you want."

Mia smiled weakly and nodded. They stood up and embraced again.

"Get yourself together, darling, and drop by before you go to sleep. The workers brought something that can brighten up your mood." She kissed her cheek and left, leaving her alone.

Mia took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her hair was wilder than usually and her mascara left black streaks on her face making her look like a panda.

Resigned, she undressed and went into the shower, moaning when the warm water hit her skin.

She needed to check if there was a sauna or a thermal pool nearby. Heat for her was always the best way to relieve stress and get rid of all thoughts from her head. Not even a week has passed since her return and the English weather drove her crazy already.

_Don't let your weakness be your downfall, Pumpkin._ Her dad said one day when they trained duelling and she couldn't beat him even once. She remembered being so frustrated with that, that she started to cry. _Weakness is something we can afford only in home, when we are with our loved ones. Same with tears. Unless the situation requires them._

Merlin knew how she needed a break...vacation...damn even a longer nap. She was riddled with nightmares for last months before her impending return to the Great Britain making almost every night a torment.

She left her room in a fluffy hotel dressing-gown, drying hair with a stream of warm air from the tip of the wand. She closed the door with an alarming spell that would let her know if anyone tried to enter her room in her absence.

The shining boards that covered the floor of the hotel corridor were pleasantly cool and smooth under her bare feet, when she padded down the corridor towards her mother's room.

Dorea was sitting on a brocade couch with the lion's feet set in front of the fireplace in her living room. Around her were disarray smaller and larger boxes, making her look like a librarian cataloguing looking through the index. She was holding at a piece of paper and inspecting it through her big reading glasses with a chain dangling from frames.

"What's in them?" Mia pointed on the boxes and Dorea smiled excitedly.

"Memories."

Mia curiously glanced at the piece of paper her mother held. It was a very old photography of four children, two boys and two girls, dressed like little Victorian dolls. She sat next to Dorea while her mother started to speak, pointing to the people in the picture with her finger.

"That's Pollux, my eldest brother." she pointed to the tallest boy with black hair. He could be fifteen. His cheekbones and the way he threw his bangs from his forehead worriedly reminded Mia of another, younger Black. "He was Sirius's grandfather and Walburga's father. Poor bastard died four years ago. And he was practically unconscious for ten. The healers said it was a curse that hit him. I loved him when we were children. After many years, I regretted that I did not strangle him in sleep when we were kids."

"He's so..." Mia broke off feeling that she did not know how to put in words that uncanny feeling that the resemblance between Sirius and his grandfather caused.

"I know, honey. Men in the Black family always looked like someone threw a multiplying spell on them at different stages of life." Dorea said with some distaste, then pointed to the girl with the tight, chestnut curls standing in front of Pollux. She had a shy expression and was visibly embarrassed by her appearance and the fact of being in front of the camera. "That's Cassiopeia. Poor thing, Pollux sent her to a closed house when she was twenty years old because he caught her writing letters with a witch from a Muggle family. She died two years ago. That's me." she chuckled pointing at a clearly annoyed little girl with hair done in a similar way as Cassiopeia's. Little Dorea tugged at the lace collar at her dress and pouted. "I remember that I was so angry with my mother that she told me to wear this scratchy dress. And at Marcus for making fun of us."

Mia looked at the other boy in the picture and had to admit that if she thought that Sirius was similar to Pollux, the similarity to Marcus was incredible.

Maybe it was because his longer chestnut hair fell on his forehead and arms, and maybe it was because of the cocky smile that played on his lips and how clearly, he snorted with laughter he glanced at his younger sisters.

"He was a squib, right?" Mia asked taking the picture from her mother's hand. She looked at the siblings closes.

"Yes. The picture was taken just before our parents sent him to a muggle school. For a few years he returned home for the summer holidays. But since I went to Hogwarts, I haven't actually seen him. I do not know what happened to him later." Dorea got up and opened another box. "Ah, these are recent." After a moment of leafing through, she started giggling. "Oh, that's rich. I forgot Sirius sent me that."

She gave Mia a single photo wrapped in a piece of preachment. She unwound the parchment which turned out to be written in rows of an even, beautiful writing.

**_January 12th, 1977_**

**_Dear auntie Dorea!_**

**_I'm so sorry that I did not reply to your letters for so long!_**

**_Maybe you already know, maybe not, but recently I had a small problem with accommodation. Me and my sweet mum had a slight discrepancy about my career after Hogwarts. She wanted me to take up the career of a cesspool diver and, as you probably know, I always dreamed of becoming a werewolf tamer._**

**_So I had to evacuate myself to the British Potter homestead. You and Uncle Charlus have kisses and hugs from them._**

**_Soon I will write more about my daring escape from the infamous career path my mother chose for me._**

**_For now, I am sending a photo-update of myself and my friends._**

**_Pay attention to Remus; the boy blushes beautifully, doesn't he? After two years of chase, I can proudly say that MY boy blushes beautifully. So thank you for good advice auntie!_**

**_I hope that this letter will find you and uncle in perfect health and well-being. Let me know how are you!_**

**_Love,_**

**_Sirius_**

**_P.S. James is still chasing around Lily, the poor fool!_**

"Sirius and Remus were a couple?" Mia asked, frowning. Dorea smiled a little wistfully.

"Oh yes. Sirius wrote about him for almost two years. It got him bad."

Mia looked at the first picture; all Marauders were on it. Sixteen-year-old, carefree, stood in the stands at the Quidditch pitch. James was laughing; his hand wandered every now and then to his hair and made an even bigger mess there. Peter smiled which caused dimples in his cheeks and glanced at the camera every few moments, as if the person taking the picture caught his attention more than his friends' antics. Sirius embraced Remus with one hand on his waist, while one Remus's arm rested on his shoulders. The werewolf looked strange to Mia with her tawny hair and a smooth, young face. Sirius has not changed that much over the years; his face only became more solemn and grown up. From time to time, young Black in the picture kissed Remus on the cheek, causing the blush he was writing about.

Mia smiled despite the fact that it was one of the many photos before the tragedy; none of them knew that in five years from then one of them will be dead and one will be in Azkaban while the other two would have to deal with the loss and trauma for the rest of their life. She wished she could help them stay just the way they were in this photograph. She even regretted this stinking traitor Pettigrew.

"I didn't know." she said quietly.

"It didn't happen the first time around?" Dorea asked curiously.

"I don't know. Their history went a completely different way. They never talked about it, that's for sure." she rolled up the preachment and looked again at the photography. "Can I take it?"

Dorea waved her hand.

"I've got plenty. The boy sent me these constantly then."

Later, when Mia went back to her rooms the thought about the upcoming day came back but without the previous glee. Instead dread curled itself up in her stomach and she felt the memories hurling down on her again.

Breathing deeply, she crawled on her bed and without bothering to cover herself and curled hugging her knees to her chest. After a moment she reached to her nightstand, took her wand and cast a silencing charm on her bedroom.

After that she drifted off into sleep filled with monsters with snake faces, crazed grey eyes and knives cutting words into her flesh.

•••

Mia woke up the next day groggy and in pain; her headache from the night before still persisted. She scrambled off her bed feeling her joints ache from the coolness lingering in the room. Her throat hurt.

Half-hour later she stood only in her underwear before a big mirror in the bedroom with her hair freshly washed and dried, and her make-up done. She made sure that on her face there was no sign of her last nights breakdown.

A few dresses hung motionless in the air around her like a swarm of colourful birds. She waved her hand lightly and one of them - in the colour of an emerald green - flew in front of her. Mia hugged the garment to her body and looked at herself on different angles turning slightly.

_Like mother, like daughter._ She thought thinking about how _slitherinish_ she looked in that colour.

She discarded the dress and looked at the others.

She thought about her father and his advices.

The thought alone was still painful and she tilted her head blinking rapidly to prevent the tears gathering in her eyes from ruining her make-up.

_You must learn how to be intimidating in a pretty dress, Pumpkin._ Charlus said with a light smile one day when they were getting ready to go out. _The girls have a little uphill. But you're also smarter than boys and you know how to use everything you've got from fate. So remember; when you go among the wolves, dress up so that you remember that you are a powerful and wise witch._

Mia looked thoughtfully at her reflection. What piece of clothing screamed power and was elegant enough to wear on such occasion? In that moment, it hit her; she waved her wand with a smile, calling from her trunks two pieces of clothing that had been created for days like that.

She put on her chosen dress and swirled around several times, looking as the fabric hugged her body. She smiled with a full smile to her reflection; that was it.

She was ready.

•••

When she entered the Ministry an hour later, the people in the Atrium almost froze in place at her sight. She caught a pair of scandalized and a few scared looks. But most people just looked away.

Each step along the corridors of the Ministry gave her extra confidence.

But the greatest satisfaction caused her the view of Sirius who looked at her just when he took a sip of his take-out coffee and almost chocked seeing her robes.

When she got to her office, she found Percy, who blushed furiously at her sight and stammered something about the fact that Professor Dumbledore was waiting for her in the office.

"Excellent!" she said briskly, and marched to office.

Albus Dumbledore looked just like Albus Dumbledore looked like always. Tall and thin he stood up from the guest chair before her desk and bowed his head in a gallant gesture. Light played in his half-moon spectacles and reflected in his silvery beard and hair. His piercingly blue eyes looked at her with calm curiosity and some kind of respect.

"Miss Potter, it's a pleasure to finally meet in person."

"Pleasure is mutual, Professor." she said sweetly. She wanted to pull out her wand and attack this man like an angry viper. Bite, bite and bite until he begs for forgiveness. But she merely smiled and pointed him to a chair and sat down behind her the desk.

"I did not realize that you were a member of Salem Witches' Institute." Dumbledore asked politely looking at her robes.

She laughed and waved her hand dismissively.

"There's so much that public eye doesn't know about me. But I guess that's what we have in common...right Albus?"

_You will meet people who will be considered untouched pillars of the community and who in reality have dubious morality. Like me!_ Charlus used to laugh. _Remember one thing, Pumpkin; crush them mercilessly. So that nothing is left of them. I would not have mercy on someone's daughter, why would anyone have mercy on You? If you need them, give them an offer that they cannot refuse._

"I have a proposition for you Albus." she began, and with each successive word, the merry twinkles in the eyes of the old wizard dimmed until they were replaced by a burning fury.

Ten minutes later, Dumbledore stepped quickly out of her office with the same fire in his eyes, followed by Percy's puzzled gaze.

A moment later, Mia left with an easy smile on her face and leaned against the door frame.

"Percy, how much time is there until the Wizengamot meeting?"

"Eeee..." he looked at his watch. "Twenty minutes. Why? Are you going there, ma'am?"

"Yes. And I also recommend you to go there, otherwise you will miss a nice show, my dear Percy." She said tapping her open palm with her wand from the end of which red sparks flew.

•••

Mia was grateful that Hermione had completely removed herself from the moment she entered the Ministry. Otherwise she knew that she would have a panic attack long time ago.

And she would certainly have had it after walking into the Wizengamot hall.

A circular room with a vaulting ceiling high in the dark was still lit by torches as in her memories. In the middle of the room was one solitary chair with loose chains hanging from the armrests.

Places for the Sacred Twenty-Eight were in the stands on one side of the room. Almost all were occupied. She saw familiar faces there. Sirius, Gideon Prewett, Eleonora Zabini, Caleb Nott, Barty Crouch...The rest of the Wizengamot members were placed on each sides of the Sacred Twenty-Eight's seats.

Dumbledore sat at the Chief Warlock chair appearing to be mired deep in thought. Percy entered with her and went to the almost completely deserted guest stands.

"Honey?" she felt a warm hand in hers and looked up to see her mother smiling at her mischievously. "Let's do this."

They sat next to Percy, still holding hands and watched as Cornelius Fudge began the meeting.

He was as small, plump and fidgety as she remembered. He had official robes thrown over his stripped suit and he changed his normal bowler hat for a bulbous hat.

"Honourable Higher Chamber of the Wizengamot. As you may all remember according to the regulation on the annual agenda for the Chamber, the second Tuesday of each month is dedicated for free applications. Does anyone want to start?"

Fudge glanced at Mia and Dorea as if he expected them to talk. Mia smiled sweetly at him; today it was not ladies who took precedence.

"It seems to me that I will start today, Cornelius." Dumbledore said in a cheerful tone. "I want to give up my position as the Chief Warlock"

There was silence in the room, and then there was the murmur of feverish conversations. Mia glanced at Sirius and met his intense eyes when he moved his gaze between her and Dumbledore. She smirked.

_Clever boy._

Fudge started hitting the cathedral with a hammer, trying to silence the room. Dumbledore sat with a calm face and fingers intertwined and looked at Mia. When their eyes met, the professor almost imperceptibly nodded to her.

"Albus...b-but why?" Fudge looked shocked at the Hogwarts Headmaster.

"Oh, I'm getting old Cornelius. And I'm planning this extra time to devote to an additional project. I think about starting a knitting circle."

Fudge did not look convinced, but apparently decided not to raise the issue on the forum.

"Can we talk about it after the meeting?"

"Of course, Cornelius. But you must know my decision is final. A very large supply of merino wool goes to me through the owl post and I'm not going to give it up. And as you know I must choose my successor till the end of today's meeting, as the law says."

Fudge was clearly baffled and shook his head; maybe this was the moment when the Headmaster of Hogwarts became completely unstuck?

"Do you have a candidate?"

Albus hummed looking like he was in a very good mood.

"I'm still undecided."

"Are there any other applications?" Fudge asked in a weak tone.

At this point both Mrs. Potter stood up still holding hands and Dorea spoke in a strong voice drawing the attention of the room to them.

"We have an application Cornelius, dear." She turned to the members of the Chamber. "I, Dorea Potter née Black, rightful Lady Potter, wife of Charlus, want to renounce my title for my daughter, Mia Potter."

Another wave of murmurs passed through the stands. Finally, Darren's Abott voice pierced through the noise.

"You have that right, Dorea, of course. But I guess we would like to know the reasons why."

"It's not a common practice." Sirius added and an approving hum went through the stands. "I suspect that you do this to reach a specific goal." he spoke to Mia looking her straight in the eye.

Without breaking the eye contact she bared her teeth challengingly. For a bystander it looked like she just smiled to him with all her might but his eyes went wide and she saw his lip twitch slightly like he tried to hold back a growl.

Satisfied Mia stepped forward letting go of her mother's hand and spoke:

"Of course, Lord Black is right, my honourable friends." she looked around the stands. "I accept your tittle mother and hereby, as the new Lady Potter I reclaim the Potter's family seat in the Higher Chamber of the Wizengamot."

After these words, all hell broke loose in the court room.


	6. Chapter 4- Still sane

"_All work and no play_  
_Never made me lose it_  
_All business all day_  
_Keeps me up a level_  
_All work and no play_  
_Keeps me on the new shit, yeah_

_Only bad people live to see_  
_Their likeness set in stone_  
_What does that make me?_"

Lorde- Still Sane

* * *

Sirius have seen and caused a fair share of havoc in his life.

But he had to admit that the one Mia Potter caused with one sentence spoken out loud in the Wizengamot courtroom was a quite spectacular one.

When she bared her teeth, he felt a low growl escape his throat before he realised what he's doing and held back his canine instincts back.

Gideon who sat beside him looked at him like he lost his mind.

_What the fuck, Mia?_

He felt like this question was the main theme of his day. Right from the moment he left the lift on the second level of the Ministry taking a sip of his Fortescue's takeout coffee and almost choked seeing her just _glide_ through the corridor.

He had never seen Salem Witches' Institiute robes before. In person at least. And even on the photos they looked like they left little to imagination.

The simple robes where made from a flowy black fabric. Wide sleeves uncovered her arms and further accented the very low cleavage that the robes had. On her wild curls there sat a black hat with a pointy broken in two places tip and wide brim. The whole thing looked like it only held up thanks to magic.

She saw him, he saw her smirk, and then she was gone.

He really didn't want to think about the implications of her being a member of The Institute. For Sirius her presence in the Great Britain was problematic enough.

He saw her an hour later in the Wizengamot Hall and then Dumbledore resigned from his chair, just like that. Like he didn't held it for the last twenty years.

Fudge clearly tried to understand what the fuck happened when Dorea stood up arm in arm with her daughter and said that she renounces her title for Mia. And that was the moment Sirius started to suspect what exactly is happening.

Now, Fudge screamed and hit his desk with his hammer like a madman. Eleonora Zabini lamented about disrespect, Mulciber and Avery something about "bad Potter blood", Gideon and Crouch started a heated conversation next to him, some older witch screamed about inappropriate values of the Salem Institiute. Augusta Longbottom wondered out loud if they wanted to revoke Henry's Potter old seat. Those who opposed screamed at Mia, and those who didn't disputed if it even was possible.

He sat there not taking his eyes of Mia who observed the screaming Wizengamot Members with a satisfied smile. Dorea looked at all that with a hint of pride. Dumbledore sat there watching that train-wreck calmly.

Finally, it seemed that Fudge remembered that he can use magic and pointed his wand toward his throat.

"ENOUGH!" his magically enhanced voice cut through the commotion making everybody jump and go silent. Fudge pointed at his throat again taking off the charm. "Please step forward Miss Potter."

Mia descended the narrow steps and stood next to the chair in the middle, beautifully terrifying. She looked confident and Sirius felt that It only riled up the wizards around him. For him it was a sign to sit and enjoy the show; because that was that. A show.

Mia Potter was asserting domination in the room and well...he could only watch and wait for his turn.

When Fudge turned to her with his disgustingly obsequious smile Sirius knew he was about to make Wizengamot's first mistake of that day:

"I'm sorry Miss Potter but I'm not sure what exactly do you mean by saying that you want to claim, 'the Potter Wizengamot seat'. There's no such thing."

Mia smiled politely and responded in a light tone:

"Of course, there is."

"No, there's not." Fudge said impatiently.

"Yes, there is." Mia repeated with more force.

"No, there's not." Fudge said again this time confused and uncertain.

"There is no such thing!" Mulciber interfered with venom in his voice. "Potter's never were a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight!"

Second mistake.

"I'm not speaking about the Sacred Twenty-Eight seat, Mister Mulciber." Mia smiled again. "I'm talking about the assigned Wizengamot seat. Some old families have them. For example, Mr. Crab and Mr. Goyle. Their seats will go to their children, then to their grandchildren and so on."

Silence was almost deafening after that and Sirius with all his might tried not to chuckle gleefully when he saw the confused looks on most faces in the room. Fudge looked like someone give him a jalapeno flavoured Berty Bott's bean; he was sweaty and red-faced. Dumbledore looked like he was watching an exceptionally entertaining play.

"That's not right. What kind of law is that?!"

"The same one you have sworn to guard, Yaxley." Sirius chuckled. "If you would spend more time doing your job you would know what Lady Potter is talking about."

"What are you babbling about Black?" Avery huffed from behind him. Sirius turned a little to look him in the eye with an unpleasant smile.

"I'm babbling about the fact that we have ten vacant seats in the Wizengamot. Five from the Sacred-Twenty Eight only. Which is absurd that we even keep seats for families that are long gone. Gaunts are extinct for last fifty years. And not to look far, " he pointed at the empty seat next to him. "Lastranges won't take this seat back given that the whole bunch rots in Azkaban."

"It's a tradition. We can't just liquidate these seats." Caleb Nott said politely. Sirius had to admit that Nott didn't lose his temper so quickly as Mulciber or Avery.

But Sirius knew which buttons to push.

"Oh, by tradition you mean Cantankerus Notts' love-letter to the Middle Ages?" he saw how Nott tighten his lips into thin line before he responded.

"There's no known author for the Pure-Blood Directory."

"You don't seem to be concerned about it so much when you brag about your family member being the author." The pink tinge on Nott's cheeks told him that he would be cursed long ago if they weren't in the Ministry. "But that's not the point. The thing is that the Potters have a seat in the Wizengamot. Henry Potter was the last person to claim it."

"Indeed he was." Augusta Longbottom threw in. "Charming fellow."

"Henry Potter was a Blood-Traitor!" Dormus Flint shouted from his seat.

Third mistake.

"My grandfather was a hero." Mia said with force. She looked angry and Sirius could have sworn that he saw sparks jumping through her locks, like electricity tendrils in a thunder. "He helped those in need when the rest of the British Wizarding Community just hid their tails and ran away."

"He helped Muggles." Flint hissed.

"He helped people." the woman retorted. "You have a problem with Muggles, Flint?" she asked in a low tone making the man flinch slightly.

"Silence!" Fudge slammed his hammer on the desk. "Sirius, spit it out already! What do you have in it?"

He could help himself but laugh.

"Cornelius, I assure you that there's nothing in it for me. I checked the books because I was sure that Potters had the seat like other old families. I did this in case my son wanted to take it in the future." he added looking back at Mia. "But now I guess it doesn't matter. The new Lady Potter has every right to claim it."

"It's absurd." Eleonora Zabini said in a bored tone. "She's not from here. She grew up in a different country. And now she wants to take the seat beside us? A fizgig without a husband and a single clue what our community looks like?"

"You know something about husbands don't you, Ela?" Mrs. Longbottom grumbled from the back row making part of the attendants snort with quiet laughter.

"SILENCE!" Fudge interfered again with his hammer and looked at Dumbledore. "Albus, what can you say about this?"

Dumbledore smiled politely and shrugged.

"Lady Potter and Lord Black are right, Cornelius. There are fifty seats in the Higher Chamber. Twenty-Eight are named Sacred. Twelve are elected every seven years and ten are reserved for the old families. Potter's, Crab's, Goyle's, Prince's, Lovegood's, Warbeck's, Scrimgeour's, Medowe's, Bones and even my family has one seat reserved." Dumbledore looked at Mia and Sirius had a strange feeling that that was more than just a knowing looks exchange. "It's all in the books, it's so simple to verify that I'm surprised that no one bothered to check."

"Thank you, Albus." Mia bowed her head respectfully.

There was another silence and then Fudge turned to Sirius, wiping sweat from his forehead with a flowery handkerchief.

"Sirius, what do you think about it?"

"What do you mean Cornelius?"

"You're the legal guardian to the Potter boy. Last British Potter. It's his seat and until he is of age you decide about it." The Minister waved his handkerchief towards Mia standing silently with her eyes on Sirius like she waited for his reaction. "You allow for this to happen?"

Sirius stood slowly from his chair, looking at Mia with a mischievous smile.

"Cornelius, Lady Potter doesn't need any acceptance from me or anyone on that matter. She has the full right to take the sit in the Higher Chamber of Wizengamot and I do not plan to sabotage this decision in any way. I will say more; I'm glad and I welcome the new Lady Potter in the Wizengamot, and I hope for more such exciting sittings as today, thanks to her." he bowed his head and added. "I'm glad you're here, cousin."

After these words for the second time that day, all hell broke loose in the court room. Fudge smashed his hammer on the desk like a madman, Eleonora Zabini and Augusta Longbottom shouted at each other, Mulciber and Avery waved their wands in the air throwing angry sparks from them, Yaxley still complained about Henry Potter being a traitor, and Amelia Bones and Fanny Medowes laughed at Julius Goyle trying to tamp down his robes that catched fire from the sparks thrown by Mulciber and Avery.

Mia looked at him with a pretty smile and Sirius felt his heart flutter in his chest.

_Too pretty._

He smiled back and winked.

•••

The rest of the day went on with a hum of gossips and speculations buzzing in the ministerial corridors.

Sirius wanted to talk with Mia after the sitting, but she was swarmed with people congratulating her and asking questions. Their eyes meet through the crowd including Fudge, Augusta, Amelia Bones, Gareth Greengrass, Percy Weasley and of course Caleb Nott. Mia threw him an apologetic smile and turned towards Amelia Bones and Augusta Longbottom.

He stood there looking thoughtfully at that when he heard Dorea's voice amused beside:

"She's something, isn't she?"

He looked at his aunt and saw a proud smile on her face. He nodded.

"Yes, she is."

"Charlus would be delighted to see her in Wizengamot. He always said that his father would be disappointed that the family vote is abandoned." she looked at Sirius and smirked. "Oh, she caught your eye, didn't she?"

He snorted.

"I'm not sixteen anymore, remember? I will not confide in you so easily anymore."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't tell your old aunt. She will only blabber it out." Dorea patted his shoulder fondly. "Keep an eye at her when I'm in States, okay, dear? She's a crafty girl but sometimes she forgets that she's only human."

He suddenly remembered Lily crying her eyes out into his arm in the little garden on the back of the Potter Cottage after she asked him to take care of Harry. Sirius thought that he apparently had something in his face that made people think that he should look after their loved ones. He still felt like the least appropriate person to do this, but he agreed, nonetheless.

"I will. Don't worry, auntie."

•••

He went back to his ministerial office and buried himself in the reports that Marlene brought there during the sitting. Beside them there was a mould under a stasis charm with a steaming meat pie. He laughed when he read the card leaned against it.

_**Arthur dropped this by. Molly demands that you show up on dinner next week.**_  
_**Eat, you skinny whore 3 – Marly**_

He looked over at the pile of scrolls stacked neatly at his desk and sighed.

Few ministerial reports about upcoming bills and proposition, one report about unicorn population in the Great Britain. Monthly reports from the businesses he owned, his schedule for the rest of the week including visit in Gringott's the next day, and all the petitioners that wanted to see him during that week for various reasons. Then he had a meeting with few wealthy, old hags on the Black Family Charity Ball. It was already October and they had to start preparations before Halloween if they were to make it.

Sirius sighed heavily thinking with reluctance about how often he would have to pretend interest and fake a smile by the end of this week. He sat down at the desk and broke the wax on the first roll.

He sat there reading, writing, calculating and afternoon went by and turned into evening. He just finished reading the report about the new legislation Dolores Umbridge wanted to present next month about employing sentient magical beings when he looked finally at his watch. It was half past nine. He groaned stretching his back in the chair.

He had to deal with Dolores. She was so openly hostile towards every type of disaccord, and Fudge liked her too much. Their relationship was... disconcerting at least. Sometimes Sirius had that strange feeling when he saw Fudge and Umbridge together; his mind always gave him a vision of a giant toad whispering poison into the idiot-Minister ear. Fudge seemed to be strangely unfocused around her, or after meetings with her. Sirius felt shivers of disgust only thinking what the cause could be.

Right now, Umbridge in one year from an anonymous ministerial employee became one of the most trusted by the Minister of Magic people. She was on her way to Head of The Department seat; and unfortunately, her favourite topics featured making life of magical creatures' miserable.

That old toad really hated anyone who wasn't entirely pureblood wizard human being.

Sirius stood up feeling his joint creak unhealthily and his neck sting painfully from hours of bending over the desk. He really tried to stay in shape after taking the desk job but year after year he felt that it became more and more difficult.

He gathered his bag and coat and left his office, closing the door with magic. Marlene's desk was dark and abandoned; in fact, all Ministry seemed deserted. His footsteps echoed throughout the quiet corridors. He equally despised and salvaged these serene moments of absolute silence and stillness. He loved them because for a couple of years already he felt that his life lacked those moments where he could just sit and do nothing, think about nothing and laze. He hated them because they reminded him of how lonely he felt most of the time.

The tension he felt grew even more since the Quidditch World Cup; he honestly wanted this schoolyear to end, for the Triwizard Tournament to pass and to the foreign schools to just go back to their lairs. He would rather let Harry stress about his OWLs than the threat of opening the school to strangers.

He would also sleep much more calmly then.

Still he had that awful feeling that the it was just the beginning and soon they would all have bigger worriers than OWLs and strangers at Hogwarts.

As he walked deep in his thoughts, he turned down the corridor toward the elevators and felt someone collide with him. Taken aback, he saw Tonks who bounced off his chest and landed on her ass on the marble floor.

"Ouch!" she complained loudly. "Watch how you're walkin' cousin!"

"Tonks, what are doing here?" he asked, helping her to get up from the ground. She looked more embarrassed by this question than her tumble.

"I...I flooed your flat but Kiki told me you haven't come home yet. And I was on duty anyway, so I thought I would look for you..." she paused, biting her lip as if she hesitated. Sirius looked at her closely; her usually bright, bristly hair was auburn and fell down her shoulders in soft waves; the colour more like her mother's hair. She was pale and clearly worried.

"Everything's all right? Something happened?"

She worried her lip with her teeth for a moment and finally said:

"Do you know where Remus is? I was at his store yesterday and today, and he wasn't there. And I even sent an owl to him, but she came back as if she couldn't find him." she said quickly as if she was embarrassed and wanted to settle it quickly. "I'm worried." Tonks added silently.

Sirius sighed heavily.

"He didn't tell you?" Tonks shook her head and he sighed again. "I asked him to look for information about...the heroine of the last days...he is now overseas...he should be back before the weekend. It's full moon on Sunday."

"He didn't tell me...we're supposed to meet yesterday to...talk." She looked broken. She bit on her thumbnail before she mumbled. "This is stupid...I'm stupid."

"Tonks..." Sirius started but she shook her head and forced back a smile.

"I must go back to the Headquarters. Thanks Sirius."

Before he could say anything, she was already quickly walking down the corridor.

He let her go. Now it was not the moment to run after Tonks. Besides, he wasn't the one who should run after her.

"Fucking hell." Sirius growled under his breath. Remus just surpassed himself.

He walked toward the elevators, again, deep in thought.

He could somehow understand what his friend's hesitation was due to. But despite everything, it was more understandable for him five years earlier when Lupin met Tonks for the first time.

He remembered the blind panic he'd seen in Remus's eyes when they ran into a fresh graduate of Hogwarts and Andromeda's daughter, in the Ministry's corridor. Excited, she told Sirius that he was going to follow in his footsteps and become an Auror and that they had just accepted her into the training program, that it was her first day. She dropped her bag four times during their short conversation. Sirius saw her glance curiously at his pale, silent friend, standing nearby and looking stubbornly at the ugly pattern on the corridors wallpaper.

That evening, Remus got drunk and trashed his little flat over Sticks and Bones only to lose consciousness in the middle of this battlefield.

Sirius found him there like that the next day after he failed to show up for their lunch. He cancelled all his meetings and spent the day with the depressed werewolf, babbling about children, immoral instinct and feeling like an old pervert.

They never mentioned it until the recent banquet at Narcissa's.

Sirius decided then not to intervene and see how it would go.

It went so that five years later, a few serious, indeterminate conversations and two broken hearts later he had to add another point on the list of things he would have to take care off.

The non-relationship of his best friend and his cousin.

"Bloody fools." he muttered as he marched through the quiet Atrium like on an autopilot.

"Who's a fool?" a familiar voice knocked him out of his reverie. He looked up just to see Mia sitting on the bank of The Fountain of Magical Brethren.

She looked relaxed but tired; her pointy hat from the Institute laid next to her on the floor beside her bag and coat. Her long hair streamed down her back and shoulders. She moved one hand over the restless surface of the water in the fountain. Her shoes were abandoned next to the hat. Her arms were a little slumped like she was too tired to keep the perfect façade any longer.

Or maybe she knew she didn't have to keep it before him?

"My friend...and the woman he loves." He was not sure why he said it. But something in her eyes disarmed him and made him feel that he could be with her for a moment, even partially, honest.

She smiled lightly looking away from him at the perfectly impersonal faces of the wizard and witch sculptures on the fountain.

"She loves him back?"

"Yes. Like a madwoman."

"So, I guess they really are both fools." she looked back at him with an amused glint in her eye. "That's what loves does with people, right?"

He smiled.

"You think so?" he cocked his head. "Maybe you're right. But I think it would be best for them if they would just already hit it on and be happy fools, rather than the miserable and pitiful fools they are now."

She laughed and Sirius thought hazily that it was a beautiful sound.

_Wow, where did THIS came from?_

His thoughts sometimes sounded like Remus. Mostly when he was cynical towards himself.

Suddenly Mia, not very elegantly, yawned and blinked like an owl a few times. She stretched her toes on the marble floor; her nails were painted with red nail-polish.

"Long day?" Sirius asked.

"You have no idea." she smiled a little sleepily. "They made me fill out every from in this goddamned building."

"Yeah, paperology is absurd when it comes to taking over the title and place in Wizengamot. Been there, unfortunately." he looked over at the fountains house-elf statue; the elf's face looked like the creature was on drugs. "I want to congratulate you. It is always refreshing when someone comes and reminds us that we are just a bunch of rich assholes who got the job because of their names and not by competence."

"You seemed well-prepared though." she said with a laugh. "I hope you do not mind that I took over this seat. I know you wanted to keep it for your son."

He waved his hand dismissively.

"To be honest I checked it out of curiosity. I don't even suspect Harry to ever go into politics. He is too much like his parents."

She looked at him curiously for a longer moment before she said.

"Thank you for today."

"What for?"

She shook her head.

"It... It was just nice to see at least one familiar and favourable face there." Mia smiled shyly and Sirius felt suddenly like his stomach dropped on to marble floor beneath.

"Do you have any plans for the evening?" even he was surprised by the question that popped out of his mouth without even a second thought. Mia looked at him with big eyes before she smiled and responded:

"I bet my mom plans to take me to some expensive and over-the-top restaurant for celebration. Why?"

"I thought you might want to go for a one to a pub on Diagon Alley. The Leaky is not a five-star restaurant...more like minus two stars...but they have decent alcohols and little traffic on Tuesdays." he said suddenly feeling nervous under her gaze. His heart skipped a beat when she laughed again and reached for her shoes.

"It's a great idea! Oh Circe, I would kill for a glass of firewhisky right now!" she said slipping the shoes onto her feet and lifting the hat off the floor.

•••

_She is normal._

That was a surprise for him but after a moment he had to admit that she had to be normal given that Dorea was her mother.

The Leaky Cauldron was quiet and almost deserted. Beside them inside there was only Tom wiping glasses with almost devotional focus behind the bar and two middle-aged witches silently sipping wine at a table near the window. They sat in the corner of the room in the soft light of candle burning slowly in a wall-holder nearby.

Mia's eyes captured him, and he found himself sitting there with his chin leaned on the palm of his hand, listening to her stories about her years in Ilvermorny. Her gesticulation was lively, and she laughed often which made her eyes sparkle with joy. Her cheeks were tinted red from the firewhisky.

"...so when we sneaked out, Mrs. Holybark thought we went through the hedge when in fact we flew above it with the...'borrowed brooms'...I thought I would shit myself; I was so scared." she giggled and took a sip from her glass. "I hate flying."

He really tried not to think about the way her lips hugged the brim of the glass...

"Really? I thought every Potter was born on a broom." he said teasingly. "Harry is the best chaser I've seen. So was James. And Fleamont was a beast-beater too. But you know... I can teach you how to fly. I wasn't so bad myself."

He thought he saw a flash of surprise in her face when he mentioned Harry, but as soon as he thought that it disappeared.

"That's what my father used to say too! But after few attempts to teach me he said that more than flying he prefers his daughter alive." she suddenly looked sad despite still smiling.

"How long it's been since...?" he asked carefully.

"Six months." Mia said quickly and sniffed quietly. "It's easier now."

"I'm sorry that I could not meet him." he said solemnly. "Dorea said so many wonderful things about him. But back then it seemed that there will always be a better time to visit...and then we lost contact...and life just happened along the way." he shrugged.

Mia laughed happily.

"Oh Merlin, my daddy would hate you! He would say that you are a fop and a ladies-man! And a Black! Circe, so bad!" she bursted with a hearty laugh seeing his offended face.

"I'm not your typical Black, thank you very much!"

"I know! But that doesn't matter! Even when you are the last Black which technically means that you are a model example of what a Black is and should be." she leaned over the table towards him and added quietly. "He would like you to prove yourself before even speaking with his precious flower."

Sirius leaned closer holding her gaze and said in a low, raspy voice:

"I'm not from those who ask the fathers permission. I would way more prefer proving myself before you, Lady Potter."

Her eyes darkened and she asked coyly:

"And how would you prove yourself before me, Lord Black?"

He smiled mischievously.

"I can juggle with three beaters bats with one hand behind my back."

Her eyes went wide with surprise before she laughed.

"That's so random! Why in the world you would do that?!"

He shrugged and took sip of his beer.

"A dare. From my teammates in school quidditch team. I think that I lost half of my IQ then, so many times I dropped those damned clubs on my head. But I did it." he chuckled at the memory. "I've later tried that while flying but ended up breaking my arm in two places and getting a concussion."

"It's your turn then." she leaned on her joined hands and looked at him expectantly.

"For what?"

"For telling your embarrassing and stupid adventures from school. You have some, right?"

He snorted.

"Merlin, you have no idea."

•••

He couldn't remember when he was the last time he went on a date.

A proper, quite innocent date with getting to know each other in a restaurant or pub, with walking the other person to their house through quiet streets with their arms linked together while laughing at some nonsense.

He wondered if this could be called a date.

_Merlin, you're really pathetic sometimes._ His consciousness said in Remus's voice.

"What house you were in Hogwarts?" Mia asked suddenly.

"Gryffindor." he responded proudly. "The only one from our family."

"What are the traits of a true Gryffindor?" she asked playfully.

"What? Are you trying to categorize me?" He glanced at her. Her cheeks and nose were red from the whisky she drank and the cold of the autumn night. Mia drank a lot and Sirius watched with growing amazement how she downed one glass after another.

"Maybeee...or maybe I'm curious if you fit to the role?"

"Well...Gryffindors are brave, daring and courageous. We value honesty and loyalty." he looked at her from the corner of his eye as she listened to him attentively. "We tend to act before we think, and we are emotional and passionate to the point of frenzy."

"So you are at least partly a perfect Gryffindor."

"Partly?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I know for sure that you are loyal and brave. You are courageous." Mia hiccupped quietly making him laugh. She frowned and swatted his arm. "I'm not so sure about that emotional part...I imagined you a little different than that."

"I suppose I just grew out of it. I used to rush head first when I was younger. I think...I think it changed when I took Harry in." he said a little grimly and then added quietly. "This is mostly your merit, you know?"

She fell silent as if his comment frightened her. Diagnon Alley was quiet, not counting their footsteps echoing on the pavement. The cold wind blew through the street bringing back unpleasant memories from years ago.

Sirius hated autumn; it only brought death and sorrow.

"It doesn't matter now." he added again in voice barely above whisper.

"It's funny you know?" Mia said suddenly in completely sober voice. "I need you to trust me. But on the other hand, I'm not sure you would if I told you everything." He felt her nails nervously dug into his arm through the coats sleeve.

"I don't need to know everything, Mia. You'll decide when I need to know." she looked at him surprised.

"You can trust me like that?"

Sirius shrugged.

"I don't have a choice. I believe you'll tell me everything sooner or later. You are alone in this as much as I am. Probably even more. We faught Voldemort here for years but he's not big of a threat in the States. So, I assume you were always alone with your knowledge and that strange mission of yours." The expression of her eyes was enough for him to confirm that he was right. He saw how she tighten her lips and looked away. He felt a little pang of guilt for playing on her emotions.

"What house were you in Ilvermorny?"

"House of Thunderbird."

"What are their traits?"

Mia relaxed slightly at the change of topic.

"We value...freedom. Strength. Intelligence but the practical one, not that purely bookish. We are ambitious. Temperamental. Independent. Secretive but at the same time we want to know the secrets of everyone around...We're here."

In fact, they arrived at the entrance to her hotel. The gold and silver sculpture of a chimera opened its mouth and shook her tail from the place over an elegant signboard.

Mia looked at him with a smile and let go of his arm. She hid her hands in the pockets of her coat and curled her arms to shield a little from cold. Her hair splayed itself on her arms and framed her face with wild curls.

"It was a nice evening. I had fun. Thank you."

"I had fun too." he said. "We have to do it again."

"Absolutely..." she threw a glance at the entrance of the hotel and again at him like she was deciding about something. Finally, she said: "You don't have to take me to the room."

Sirius nodded his head with a smile.

"Of course."

But the smile was replaced by surprise when Mia stood on tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"See you at the Ministry." she said with a sly smile before turning and disappearing inside the hotel lobby.

His mind went absolutely blank the moment when her soft lips touched his cheek. She smelled like honey, warm sand and lily of the valley. Her breath smelled sharp and sweet like the firewhisky she drank...

So he stood there like an idiot looking at the hotel door while the Remus-sounding part of his mind screamed at him to get his shit together.

But it was like someone Obliviated him and left without giving any further directions.

Only when he heard a strangled chuckle behind his back he woke up from this strange state and, guided only by his instinct, turned violently yanking his wand from the case hidden in his sleeve. He heard muffled shouts and the sound of falling bodies when his stinging hex hit the target.

With a still drawn and pointed wand, he carefully approached the bundle of bodies in which he saw two red heads and an invisibility cloak tangled between them.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked in disbelief. He leaned over and grabbed each of Weasley's twins by the ear and pulled them up.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

"Sirius! Ouch! Fancy seeing you here! OUCH!"

"Why the bloody hell are you here?" Sirius hissed. He let their ears and the twins stood side by side trying to look ashamed. It did not work very well because Sirius still saw the mischievous glint in their eyes.

"Business!" said George.

"Top secret!" added Fred.

"We can't tell!"

"Not a word! No-no!"

Black squeezed the bridge of his nose and took a calming breath. At last he looked at the boys with a smile.

"So I guess your mother doesn't know about this?"

They looked at each other carefully.

"She doesn't know, no." Fred finally said.

Sirius' smile widened.

"Oh, good. She will fucking kill you both when I tell her."

"What?!"

"NO!"

"YOU CAN'T TELL HER!"

"SHE _WILL_ KILL US!"

He picked up the invisibility cloak, folded it and hid in his bag and crossed his arms over his chest glaring at the twins.

"Either you tell me what you are doing here or I patronus Molly right now and let her deal with you two in her own way."

The twins shared a look again and finally George sighed heavily.

"Okay, we will tell you."

"But don't tell mum."

"Promise Sirius!"

"Promise!"

"I will decide when I know what's going on." the man said sternly. "It's dangerous for you to be here at this hour. Any hour in that matter. And you just ran away from school for hell's sake!"

"Honest to Meriln! It's business related!"

"We are looking for ingredients."

"Ingredients for our products."

"Products to sell."

"Sell at our shop."

"Shop with magical jokes and gadgets!"

Sirius shook his head; it started to ache.

"Okay. I get it! But why are you here? What kind of ingredients you are looking for that you don't' have in Hogwarts and in Snape's broom closet?"

The twins covered their mouths in mocking shock.

"You!" George gasped.

"Are you trying to persuade us to steal from a teacher?!" Fred asked incredulously.

Sirius lifted his brow and then his wand.

"Expecto..."

"No! No!"

"Okay, okay! We took things from Snape's storeroom, but he started to suspect things lately!"

"He accused us, Harry and Ron of stealing Lacewing fly lately!"

"But we didn't need it! So it wasn't us!"

"Hogsmeade is so poorly stocked..."

"...that we made a deal with Mundgus Fleacher!"

"To get us everything we need."

"But he insisted that we will meet here...

"...because he owes money to someone in Hogsmeade"

"So we came and we got everything we need from him."

"We were about to come back..."

"...but we saw you standing there with that bombshell there..."

"...and then we watched you making puppy-eyes when she left!"

_Great..._

"Firstly..." he lifted finger cutting off the twins stream of shared consciousness. "For you little brats it's Miss Bombshell. Secondly; send me your business-plan and I will consider getting the ingredients for you. Thirdly; how you two got out of Hogwarts and why you have my son's invisibility cloak?"

The twins looked at each other hearing the last question.

"You'll make it, so we won't be able to sneak out anymore, won't you?"

"You can bet your red mugs that I will. If you won't tell me I will just make it, so every secret passage is guarded. You know I can do this, boys." he added with a smile making the twins pout like scolded children.

"You're no fun!"

"Thought you will appreciate our resourcefulness!"

"We told Harry that we're going to the kitchens."

"He doesn't know about this!"

"We sneaked out through the Honeydukes passage..."

"...and just apparated here under the cloak."

Sirius grabbed the twins by their ears again and pulled them behind him towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Deals with Dung, sneaking out of the school in the middle of semester on a school-night, trip to London, lying to your pal, and to top all that illegal apparition without a licence." the twins marched beside him protesting loudly. "You're really lucky I'm afraid of Molly too."

There was the next point on the list of things that Lord Black had to deal with.


	7. Chapter 5- Bad guy

"_So you're a tough guy_  
_Like it really rough guy_  
_Just can't get enough guy_  
_Chest always so puffed guy_  
_I'm that bad type_  
_Make your mama sad type_  
_Make your girlfriend mad tight_  
_Might seduce your dad type_  
_I'm the bad guy._"

Billie Eilish- bad guy

* * *

He woke up with a headache and bitterly thought about the previous evening; he escorted the twins to Hogwarts through the Headmasters office. Dumbledore of course didn't sleep and sat behind his desk with that calm look of his. He only lifted a brow seeing Sirius scramble through the fire place with his hands clasped patronizingly on the two teenagers' arms.

_It's fucking creepy._ Sirius thought when he realised, he couldn't recall a single time he caught Dumbledore sleeping or just...tired at least.

McGonagall took the boys back to the Gryffindor Tower with blazing eyes, clearly furious. Of course, Molly would find out about the whole incident; Sirius simply did not want to be the one who will tell her about it.

Sirius concluded that he would take a chance and ask Dumbledore about the Wizengamot sitting and why he resigned from his position. The old wizard only smiled as if Sirius asked him what the weather would be the next day. But when he was about to enter the fireplace to go back to his London house when Dumbledore spoke:

"Sirius?" when the younger man looked at him, he continued. "You will find out soon. Till then...watch out for Miss Potter."

"I know. Dorea asked me already to do that..." Black said confused but Dumbledore shook his head lightly.

"No. Watch out for _her_. Be careful."

**_...Be careful!..._**

The sense of déjà vu was almost overwhelming, but he felt that something wasn't right. Dumbledore _never ever_ said anything like that about anyone. Sirius never heard him judge or tried to forestall someone to anyone. But suddenly he just stops him and just like that warns him about that girl.

Then it dawned on him.

"She blackmailed you." he almost laughed. "Merlin, that girl just has something on you, right? She found something?" he laughed this time and shook his head. "I almost feel for you, Albus!"

He then walked into the fireplace and the last thing before he shouted his address and disappeared in emerald flames, was the mad and a little ashamed face of Albus Dumbledore.

He was back in home around two in the morning. Too late.

He collapsed exhausted in his daily clothes on the bed and fell asleep instantly.

Five hours later Kiki woke him up tugging on his sleeve and nagging him about going to bed in his daily clothes. He was slightly hungover and definitely didn't want to get up from bed.

He sat sleepily poking his breakfast with fork without appetite; he tried to avoid alcohol for so long that his capabilities got a lot worse. Everything more than two drinks made him suffer in the morning. And that thing with the twins later...

"Merlin..." he groaned burying his face in hands.

"Master, Kiki brought the newspaper and a letter from Master Lupin." he peeked through his fingers and saw the top of elf's head. He put down his hands and took the papers from her.

"Thank you, Kiki."

"Master won't be happy with the Daily Prophet."

"What? Why?" he asked and quickly unfold the Prophet only to groan again at the title on the front page.

_Daily Prophet, issue #34,618, October 12th 1994._

**LORD BLACK'S SECRET TYRST! IS LADY POTTER THE NEXT LADY BLACK?**

_Only in Daily Prophet! Exclusive photos!_

_Our exclusive sources at Daily Prophet came into possession of these heart-melting photos of Lord Black and the newly minted Lady Potter._

_Sirius Black (34), currently one of the most desirable bachelors in Great Britain, clearly took liking in young Mia Potter (27) since it hasn't been even a week since her arrival in London and they already had what seemed to be a date!_

_Beautiful and young Mia Potter, former politician at Magical Congress of the United States of America, came to Great Britain to take the position of position of an Independent Consultant for relations between the MACUSA and M.o.M._

_Yesterday however must have been a very exciting day for Miss Potter since during the Wizengamot's Higher Chamber sitting, she took the title after her mother and reclaimed the Potter Wizengamot seat. The evening meeting with Lord Black seems to be peculiar given that Lady Potter took the seat that Harry Potter (14); Black's adoptive son was until now the only candidate to the position._

_Black doesn't seem to mind since he expressed his support to this decision publicly during the sitting._

_We can clearly see the chemistry working between the two in these photos!_

_Article and photos thanks to the courtesy of Erik Sarette._

The article was paired with two photos of them from the previous evening. The first one was taken in Leaky Cauldron when they sat at their table, leaned towards each other, laughing at something. The second was taken in the exact moment Mia stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. The photography perfectly captured the moment his mind went blank at the gesture. His face relaxed and eyes soften when he looked at her surprised.

If that article wasn't about him, he could believe that the photos were of a soon-to-be lovey-dovey couple.

"Who the fuck is Erik Sarette?" he mumbled to himself still looking at the photos. He...wasn't as mad as he should be. Out of all gossip pieces that that shitty tabloid produced on him this one was...the nicest?

It slightly irritated him more than anything. He was more concerned what Mia would think about it.

And that Sarette guy...whoever he was they didn't see him following them.

He sighed and decided to drop by the Ministry later to see if she was there. He didn't want to go to her hotel since this could create even more gossip. He had to know what she was thinking about it.

Sirius picked up the rolled piece of preachment from Remus and tapped it twice with tip of his wand; they always protected their letters with a charm that prevented anyone but them from opening them.

The note was short. Remus's familiar handwriting looked even more messy than usually and betrayed his fatigue and impatience.

_I'm home. Come tonight. I asked Fabian to come too._  
_There is a lot for us to discuss. -R._

He felt a sudden wave of excitement; he was really curious what Remus managed to find out. Mia still felt like a riddle to him. Admittedly after talking with her he felt that the answer was at the reach of his hand. But still every time he felt that he's close to it just flew from his grasp.

In slightly better mood he finished breakfast and started to get ready for the day.

•••

Every other Wednesday's Sirius had to visit Gringot's to deal with the Goblins and do the vault checks. He had to check the Black's vault, Lastrange's vault, Potter's vault and Malfoy's vault since he was the closest living male relative to all these families.

Sirius helped Narcissa recoup the vault she got after her husband despite her going back to her maiden name. She wanted that for Draco and Sirius happily obliged and pulled the necessary strings since the Potters vault had the same purpose.

Of course, that meant that he had to go through lists of four biggest vaults in Gringotts which proved to be an exceptional pain in the ass. Thanks to the Gringotts policy he was the only person that could do this.

So like every other Wednesday Sirius spent almost nine hours at the very bottom of the underground tunnel system of the bank accompanied by one grumpy, old goblin named Gnorky.

And after those nine hours like every other Wednesday he left the bank with a headache and slight disgust towards the goblins. Every time he looked at the blind, terrified dragon trapped there, trembling before one of the goblins clanking the bells with a vengeful face, he got angry. He knew that there was very little he could do with that dragon, but he felt dirty after leaving the vaults; like he was accomplice to all of this.

The traffic on Diagon Alley seemed to die out when he left the bank. The sun has already set, and the buildings cast long shadows at the alley. Employees were leaving shops and offices, and the first participants of the night life were beginning to fill restaurants and pubs. Few threw glances at Sirius as he walked along the street deep in thought. Lord Black had his own reputation, quite different from the one his father owned, but still the fear of the name stayed. So, no matter how much Sirius worked and how many things he's done since taking the title there always was this underlying uncertainty from the people that didn't know him personally. It looked like people thought that dark magic was something hereditary, that coursed through one's veins like the pure-blood his family always took so much pride in.

He still struggled with defining what being good meant. When he was younger the line was simple; world divided between those who followed Voldemort and those who didn't. Year after year, time after time, he was painfully convinced that it was not true.

The longer he lived the more complicated the world seemed to be. He met bad wizards that fought on the good side, and good wizards that fought on the bad side. He met those who practiced magic that was deemed bad and immoral, but they did it for a good purpose. He met bad wizards and good muggles, and bad muggles and good wizards. He met people he couldn't classify neither good nor bad. They just were perfectly grey in their morality and he often felt closest to them; in his nature there was just that thing that demanded for him to be as cruel and ruthless as he could to people who were a threat to his loved ones.

So there were things he, as the capable one, had to do.

Unbothered by anyone he turned into Knocturn Alley.

The scenery changed; the neat and tidy nooks and streets beside the Diagon Alley turned into muddle of dirty, dark alleyways that made the Knocturn District.

Finally, after a few turns he saw the signboard of The White Wyvern.

The interior smelled like old beer and dirty bodies. Few heads turned at the sound of the door opening but as soon as they saw Sirius enter, they turned back to their glasses and cards. He looked around but there was no sight of the person he was looking for right now.

Barman- whose name was Hector as far as Sirius knew- nodded to him in a greeting.

"Long time- no see. Same as usual?"

"Not today. I'm looking for Dung."

The barman cackled hearing that.

"Someone's in trouble. I've heard that he's at Shyverwretch's. Trying to sell some stuff as usual."

Sirius nodded and took out a single galeon from the pocket but when he wanted to put in on the counter, the barman shook his head.

"That's gratis. The stinky git owes me money."

Sirius nodded again and turned to leave.

Shyverwretch's Venoms and Potions was a bit further into the Knockturn's depths. Sirius knew these areas quite well so he walked confidently through the dark, dimly lit alleys; there were only handful of people who would dare to attack him there. He was cautious but not fearful.

He saw Shyverwretch's signboard in the exact same moment when Mundgus Fletcher was thrown out on the shop by angry, older witch. The dishevelled wizard tripped over his legs trying to escape the hexes throw in his direction by the shopkeeper, and landed face-first in a puddle.

"I'm an honest businessman!"

"Sell this shit to some schoolkids! Don't come back!" she shouted and slammed the door behind her.

Mundgus stood up spitting water and trying to wipe mud from his baggy eyes and unkempt beard.

"Dung, what a surprise!" Sirius called jovially making the petty dealer jump and look around in panic. But before he could do anything Sirius already had his arm around him and the tip of his wand discreetly pressed somewhere around his liver. He stiffened and let Sirius led him into one of the dead-end alleys.

Sirius cringed feeling the odour of old alcohol and tobacco that reeked from Dung, but as soon as they were hid from the view, he pushed the other wizard and punched making him collapse on the pavement with blood gushing from his nose. He pointed his wand at him with bored expression and Dung started crawling back trying to get as far as he can.

"S-Sirius! Listen! Whatever happened we can talk it out!"

Sirius smiled in an easy way with made a horrible contrast to the wielded wand and cold expression of his eyes.

"We had a deal Dung. I turn a blind eye at your dirty little business, I even let you make some money." Sirius made a step closer making Mundgus scramble back in panic. "The one and only condition I've made...can you remind me what I've asked you NOT to do?"

The other man gulped loudly before responding.

"You banned me from making deals with people from your en...eun...emt..." he broke off trying to say the unfamiliar word, which made Sirius roll his eyes and finish for him:

"_Entourage_, you moron. Family. Pack. Surroundings. It was the only condition, for you not to crawl from your hole. And you just threw it all away to make a laughable profit out of two stupid kids." he made another step and Dung squealed panickly.

"Those Weasley boys? They've reached to me Sirius! I swear that they wanted to make a deal with me!" Sirius took another few steps forcing his back to hit the wall at the end of the alley. Mundgus pushed himself into the brick wall like he wished to just vanish inside it. His face was still wet, but his eyes were red and watery like he was crying. Blood trickled down his quivering lips and chin and stained the front of his clothes.

"I'm sorry Sirius!" he wept. "I'm stupid! I've should've just sent them home!"

"Yes. You should have. Our deal is broken. The evidence against you in that trafficking case is already in the Auror Headquarters. So, finish your deals my disgusting friend...you're going away for a long time." Sirius smiled again when he saw a shiver of fear run through Dung.

"You can't! You'll go too If you say anything!"

Sirius busted with laughter throwing his head back.

"You really are stupid if you think I will hand over any evidence against myself. Don't worry about me..." he hid his wand and leaned over to lift Dung by the front of his dirty robe. He pressed him to the brick wall so that his feet waved desperately in the air. The red swollen face from alcohol level up with Lord's Black pale, smiling face and icy gaze. "It'll be all on you Dung. And now even Dumbledore won't be able to pull you out of this..."

•••

He found Mia still in her office in the Ministry hunched over stacks of reports. She had her hair in her typical messy bun, and he could see her heels discarded under the desk.

When she looked at him from above the scroll, she was taking notes from her eyes lighten up.

"Hi." he smiled a little awkwardly.

"Hi." she responded with a happy smile. She didn't look mad.

"Percy is sleeping on his desk." he said pointing with his thumb on the door behind him.

She laughed shaking her head.

"I've told him to go home. That kid really doesn't know how to chill out."

"That's true. But...he was always like that. You don't have to worry about it much..."

"You know him?" Mia cocked her head curiously.

Sirius nodded.

"I know his whole family. The Weasley kids are friends with my son."

"I have a feeling that this world is so small here. Everyone knows everyone." she muttered closing the ink bottle and draining the quill into a piece of crumpled parchment. "I feel watched and alienated at the same time."

"Actually..." Sirius started and waited till she looked at him again. "I wanted to ask if you saw today's Daily Prophet."

She looked at him confused.

"Yeah, I saw. What's with it?"

"I wanted to make sure you don't feel uncomfortable with that trashy article."

"Oooooch!" her eyes became big when she realised what he was asking about. "Oh Circe, you're so sweet." she smiled widely. "I don't care about it, really. I'm sure you'll find out soon that I've had my fair share of trashy articles. But it's so nice that you've...Merlin, Sirius, what happened with your hand?" she stood up from behind the desk and bare-footed padded towards him.

He looked at his hand; he cleared his knuckles from Dungs blood, but they still were swollen and cracked. He planned to take care of them at Remus's place. He knew some healing spells, but they always required a lot of concentration from him.

She took his hand delicately and started to look and touch them lightly.

"There's blood on your coat..." she said slowly. "You're lucky nothing's broken..."

"It's...it's nothing really." he said awkwardly.

"You...Did you beat someone up?"

He took his hand from her carefully and hid in in his pocket answering her question only with a shrug. She looked at him closely but didn't question further. She cocked her head and lifted her brow.

"My mom leaves tomorrow. She asked me to tell you that you and Harry are always welcomed in the Potter Ranch. She also said that she will send you an owl with an invitation for Holidays." she smiled in a way that was very reminiscent of Dorea.

He mustered up a faint smile and nodded.

"I'm not sure we will be able to come, but still...thank you for the invitation."

She snort a laugh:

"Yeah, try telling that to my mother. She started suggesting me names for grandkids when she saw the Prophets article." She shook her head impatiently. "Someone would have thought that a woman her age would learn already that I'm a lost cause."

There was something bitter in her tone, something that made Sirius want to grab her hand and squeeze reassuringly. But he hesitated for a second and before he could decide she was smiling again at him. Except this time there was something fake in that smile, something that didn't quite match the expression of her eyes.

"Wake up Percy on your way out, okay? Send him home."

Sirius nodded slowly wondering where that change came from and turned to leave when she spoke again.

"Say hi to Remus."

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned slowly.

"What?"

She leaned on her desk with arms crossed on her chest and crocked eyebrow. Her lips contorted in a defiant grimace when in a mocking way- as he had before- she answered his question with a shrug.

•••

When he reached Remus, the werewolf was waiting for him with Fabian in the little flat above Sticks and Stones.

The space was cluttered with books and exhibits of magical animals and their parts immersed in different coloured liquids. His living space was reduced almost by half thanks to this. But Sirius knew that his friend found comfort in these items, so he didn't comment.

"Sorry for being late." he said when Remus let him in, and he hung his coat on a hanger near the door. "I had to do some things before coming here."

"For example, your new girlfriend, ey?" Fabian leaned over the entrance to the small kitchenette grinning and wiggling his brows suggestively. "How was your secret tryst, Lord Black? The girl didn't melt in the air?"

Sirius looked at him with pity.

"Well, Prewett, unlike some, I do not meet with a married woman. So I don't have to keep my trysts secret."

He was pleased to see Fabian deflate a little and stop grinning. He went to the table where Fabian sat down and after removing the pile of parchment from one of the chairs sat down.

"How the fuck, Black?"

"Narcissa talks when she drinks. Like...a lot." Remus said faintly as if remembering some spicy details, he didn't want to remember. He placed a coffee mug in front of Sirius and sat down with his own before him.

Fabian groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Merlin, I adore that woman, but sometimes she's as sharp as a beach ball." he mumbled making Sirius burst with a barking laughter. Remus chuckled but suddenly grunted and winced.

He was ghastly pale; his face was a little sunken and marked with darkened veins. His eyes were almost completely gold in colour and his pupils were dilated.

"How are you feeling?" Fabian asked frowning with concern, but the werewolf only waved him off.

"I didn't slept it off after the trip. Time difference is a bitch, really." he took a sip from his cup, closing his eyes with content. Remus celebrated his tea like a sacred thing.

"Right, Fabian." Sirius started. "You'll have shit-ton of work tomorrow morning. Some big breakthrough in some old case." He smiled sweetly. "Just so you would know."

"What do you mean?" Auror's eyes went wide before narrowing suspiciously. "What did you do, you prick?"

Sirius sent him a kiss and winked, laughing at the redhead's wry face.

"No need to thank me. You're welcome." he turned to Remus. "You're sure you want to do it tonight? If you're feeling unwell maybe, we should talk after the full moon?"

The werewolf shook his head and smiled kindly.

"I'll manage. It's important Sirius." he took a deep breath. "Especially since she clearly knew I will be there looking for information on her."

"What?!" Fabian and Sirius asked simultaneously. Remus nodded.

"When I've got to the great archives the archivist asked me my name, and when I introduced myself she just smiled and said that Miss Potter asked her to hand me anything I would like to have from the archives regarding her." he shook his head again with a smile dancing on his lips. "Of course, I've took everything I could and copied it. But that's only files, dry facts about her and her work at MACUSA. So, I've looked for people who were available then in D.C." he broke off and took another sip of his tea.

"You've managed to find someone?"

Remus nodded with his eyes still closed before continuing.

"I've talked with her friend from school and her former boss from the Thunderbirds Unit..."

Fabian choked on his coffee with wide eyes.

"W-what?"

"Thunderbirds?" Sirius frowned.

"Black! Thunderbirds! They're like...the elite from elite when it comes to dealing with dark magic! Like Order of the Phoenix on a muscle-gaining potion!" Sirius had not seen Fabian this excited for a long time. "If she was with them it could explain her skills and all!"

"But she joined them when she was eighteen, Fabian. It doesn't add up in our timeline here."

"Okay, slow down." Sirius looked pointedly at the redhead. "Remus, tell us, everything you've found out. Then we can theorize about anything."

The werewolf nodded and put down his cup; he still held it, warming his hands around it. Sirius knew that before the full moon Remus always felt overly cold.

He closed his eyes, as if sorting what he wanted to say in his head. After a moment, he looked at the two men at the table and began in a chatty tone:

"Maybe...maybe it will be the best if I would start at the beginning? Let's build up the story with facts that won't get confusing as it progresses. Because there's not a lot of those in what I found out..."


	8. Chapter 6- Nightmare

_"I've tasted blood and it is sweet_  
_I've had the rug pulled beneath my feet_  
_I've trusted lies and trusted men_  
_Broke down and put myself back together again_  
_Stared in the mirror and punched it to shatters_  
_Collected the pieces and picked out a dagger_  
_I've pinched my skin in between my two fingers_  
_And wished I could cut some parts off with some scissors_

_"Come on, little lady, give us a smile"_  
_No, I ain't got nothin' to smile about_  
_I got no one to smile for, I waited a while for_  
_A moment to say I don't owe you a goddamn thing_

_I, I keep a record of the wreckage of my life_  
_I gotta recognize the weapon in my mind_  
_They talk shit, but I love it every time_  
_And I realize_

_I'm no sweet dream, but I'm a hell of a night_  
_That I'm no sweet dream, but I'm a hell of a night_

_No, I won't smile, but I'll show you my teeth_  
_And I'ma let you speak if you just let me breathe_

_(...)_  
_I could play nice or I could be a bully_  
_I'm tired and angry, but somebody should be"_

Halsey- Nightmare

* * *

Finding basic information about Mia wasn't as hard as one could think. It took me one visit to the MACUSA's Great Archives.

Mia Potter was born on September 19, 1967 in New Orleans Charity Hospital.

Her mother, muggle, Yvonne Lapieux refused to even look at the girl, demanding for social workers to immediately take the child away. Father was listed as unknown.

Yvonne Lapieux's whereabouts from the point remained unknown.

After a month at a care facility Mia was placed in a muggle orphanage. Soon one of the employees from the orphanage reportedly called the muggle law enforcement panicked claiming that one of the infants started levitating. When the officers came nothing was out of ordinary, so they just dismissed it as the caretaker probably being high.

The second time however the infant room caught on fire when little baby Mia had a fit.

The MACUSA services arrived and contained the accidental magic outbreak, wiped the orphanage workers memories and all records of Mia being there. The paper trail told a history of young couple from Canada adopting Mia almost immediately after she left the hospital.

In fact, Mia was adopted right away by Dorea and Charlus Potter. The procedure was quick and seamless and being four months old she got registered as Mia Potter.

For couple next years there was little one could find about her life. That's not so strange, really.

There was an occasional photo of the whole family on some charity events. There was one from MACUSA's Charity Fair I remember quite accurately; Dorea, practically beaming with pride looking beautiful in an elegant gown, beside her Charlus in dress robes with a slightly askew cowboy hat on his salt and pepper, curly hair and dark moustache grinning in a way that incredibly reminded me of Fleamont and James. And between them stood little Mia- maybe six years old- in a dress matching her mother's; the girl grinned to the camera just like her father showing off two missing teeth.

Until she went to school practically all the mention of her in the papers was just added to news and documents regarding her parents.

At age of ten she began her education at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the States kids start school a year earlier than here. And from there her trace started to get much clearer.

From year one she exceled in all classes and had the best scores in history of the school. When she was on second year there was first press note about her and her scores. From that moment she became a favourite among the readers, and I found plenty of articles about the Potter Heiress.

The first crack at her image came when at ages fifteen she joined the Salem Witches Institute. Her formal request was accepted, and she became a part of the sisterhood.

Second crack appeared when she decided to take a gap year after finishing Ilvermorny whit a record score.

After that point I almost drowned in the amount of documentation that Mia appeared in; either as the main heroine or just as a signature. Half of it was all formal and all almost all regarding her work. The other were news and gossip about her personal life.

Looking through all of it I decided that the best way to get an idea what kind of person she is was to talk with someone who knew her.

I located Cloe Rogers, Mia's friend form Ilvermorny and Dean Johnson her boss from the Thunderbirds. Rogers lives in D.C. and Johnson was there in business.

Johnson responded to my owl almost immediately and agreed for a meeting the same day.

10 October 1994, MACUSA, Washington D.C.

Dean "Chief" Johnson looked almost exactly like I've imagined him. He was tall, monstrously big, and had a giant moustache. His black, bald head reflected light in a way that reminded me of that time when Sirius and James finally asked Kingsley if he polished his head before leaving house.

We met in his temporary office in the MACUSA; when I entered, he stood up from behind his desk, shook my hand without a word and motioned for me to sit on the guest chair. He looked at me for a couple of seconds closely, like he tried to judge my character. Finally, he sighed and said in a gruff voice:

"Don't get me wrong Lupin but if it wasn't for Mia, I've wouldn't talk with you at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Mia told me that one day someone from UK will probably come and ask about her. She told me who I could trust without asking questions."

That was a surprise. I thought if she were to talk about anyone, then it would be Sirius given that she had some contact with him.

"She told you about me?"

"Among others."

"Others?"

Johnson let out a breathy chuckle.

"Like I would tell you. That's off limits. Besides it's not like I don't know what's going on at yours right now." he clicked his tongue and shook his head with pity. "What kind of idiot minister you've got yourself to say that that shitshow at Quidditch Championships was just a work of copycats?"

I've shrugged; it's not news to anyone in the British community that Fudge is a moron.

"Didn't picked him really."

"Well, it's the sweet advantage of democracy; when we pick an idiot to represent us, we can blame only ourselves. And kick him in the ass after four years. Still don't know why Mia wanted to go to UK so badly...no offence."

"None taken."

"But you're not here to listen to me ranting about politics...but I must say that there's nothing as inseparable as Mia and politics. I always felt like she's plotting her moves hundred steps ahead. It didn't always work out the way she wanted but for sure, she always landed on four pawns." Johnson chuckled again. "I know her since she was a little rascal. Me and her pops knew each other for years. So it wasn't really a problem for me when she asked for a trial to join Thunderbirds. I didn't expect her to finish it, but I knew that even if she fail she won't be mad."

"But she managed to pass." I stated and that made Johnson laugh like a maniac.

"Sweet Morganas ass. Managed? We managed to survive. Me and boys. She practically wiped the floors with our asses." he giggled again probably seeing my surprise. "It's one of my fondest memories to be honest."

"Could you tell me about it?"

Johnson nodded and began narrating how he remember Mia's first encounter with the Thunderbirds.

•••

**15 June 1985, Manhattan, New York**

Summer forcefully enveloped the city in its warm, faded-out embrace. Sun mercilessly shone on the lightly clad New Yorkers; people ran around like ants escaping a light-beam from magnifying glass held by a sadistic child. People in traffic pushed down on their honks, throwing curses at each other; their faces sweaty and red from the heat and rage.

In the decade of Regan, economic recession, unemployment, fear of communism, New Coca-Cola, NES, Michael Jackson's Thriller, stars in the grasp of their hands and computers small enough to fit into a suitcase, people seemed to be as self-centred and rushed as they were when "the world" was only as far as their eyes could see.

Among all of them down the sidewalk, walked a young girl. She had headphones on her ears, plugged into a walkman pinned to the belt of her high-waist jeans shorts. Her springy, short locks bounced with her every dancing step. Big Ray-Ban's covered her eyes and a colourful belt-bag peaked from a loose off shoulder, white top.

Some people, who weren't so deep in their hurry, caught the site of the girl, eyes lingering and heads turning. Maybe it was the pretty doll-like, freckled face with golden-brown complexion and her long, long legs. Maybe it was her confidence and imperiousness, just seeping from her posture and the way she threw her hair away and swayed her hips. Maybe the almost electrical determination and purpose she clearly had walking along this ordinary sidewalk, among ordinary people, on this ordinary Sunday afternoon. Because this girl was far from ordinary despite looking the part.

The girl turned into one of the smaller alleyways; the crowd there was sparser. It was one of the streets only people who lived there had any business straying to. Besides a sleazy looking Chinese restaurant and an equally bad looking laundry there was nothing noteworthy.

The faded-out shop sign announced with chipped, dirty big letters "MR. CHOI'S LAUNDROMAT & CLEANERS". Below in smaller ones "SELF-SERVICE". Flickering neon shone angry in red "24H".

The girl without hesitation entered the laundry through door with hazy glass panels.

The interior was in even worse condition than the façade; the fade out, peeling paint, dirty floors, bland light and sour odour floating in the air. The washing machines were arranged in three rows on a sticky black and white checkered vinyl floor. An old man- probably Mr. Choi- sat in a deep slumber on a chair in the corner. His thin moustache rose and fell in the rhythm of his breath.

The girl came to the machine with the "Out of order" sign, threw it into the coin slot a large, gold coin and pushed the "start" button.

The laundry machine rattled loudly making the old man in the corner snore deeply and smack his lips a couple of times before stilling again. The girl threw a glance at the old man before opening the big, round door to the laundry machine and slipping inside, closing it behind her.

Instead of the damp, narrow metal interior of the washing machine drum she came to a spacious, wood-panelled reception filled with cigarette smoke. Behind a single desk, sat a young man of Asian descent; even from afar she could see a scar marring left half of his face.

The room looked comfy with a small waiting area with four comfy-looking but tattered armchairs and small table with a stack of magazines and newspapers. Few green tall plants in ceramic pots stood here and there.

He was comfortably sprawled on a chair and his legs in dragon leather boots were thrown haphazardly onto the desktop. When he saw her, he put down his legs with a loud thud and looked at her with a crooked brow and mocking smile before taking a deep drag from his cig.

"You lost baby girl?"

Pursing her lips, the girl took off her shades and hid them in her belt-bag and walked toward the reception desk. He had dark, artistically dishevelled hair, shapely features and striking blue eyes. He could be considered very handsome if it wasn't for the ragged, red and purple scar that started somewhere on his temple and ended just under the eye socket giving his face a morbid look.

"No. I have an appointment with Capitan Dean Johnson regarding recruitment trial."

The man snorted and put out his smoke in the crystal ashtray laying on the desk.

"Yeah, right. I don't think so."

She narrowed her eyes and the man could have sworn that he saw sparkles jumping through her locks.

"Excuse me?"

"We don't recruit kids, sweet cheeks."

"And who are you? A receptionist?"

He made an offended face.

"I'm on duty here!"

The girl leaned over the desk placing her hand flatly on the counter. She was smiling, but it wasn't a nice smile.

"Then do your job and take me to the Chief. I don't want to be late because you don't do your job properly."

He stood up and leaned on the other side of the desk, mirroring her posture; he was taller and towered over her.

"I have a good advice for you baby girl; turn away and go back to whatever debutant dream you came from. I've heard that they're recruiting in the Floo Registration Office. That's a nice job. You certainly won't have a chance to die there."

"Choi! What the hell is going on here?"

They both looked at the door from where the booming voice came from. The girl smiled seeing Chief standing there with a stormy expression.

"Chief, that girl claims that she's here to take the trail."

"Well, she's damn-right then." he grumbled and turned to the girl instantly smiling. "Mia, sunshine, you got here without any problems?"

"Yes, uncle, thank you." she walked towards Chief and hugged him heartily.

"Uncle...?" Choi asked weakly looking between the two.

"Get back to work, Choi!"

"Wait, she's really here to take the trials? I want to go watch!"

"You stay here! It's your turn on the reception!" Chief growled and turned to Mia. "Ready Mia? Let's go. By the way, how's your mum and pops? All good at the ranch?"

They left the reception and the still gaping Choi and went through a narrow dimly lit corridor.

•••

An hour later Mark Choi sat behind the desk still annoyed, killing time by letting out cigarette smoke rings from his lips when Shea Donovan, one of his teammates, emerged from the corridor leading to the training halls. He was holding a piece of bloodied cloth at his temple. He had a giant bruise on his cheek and few burn-marks on his clothes.

"Choi, Chief calls you."

"The fuck happened to you?"

Shea shrugged.

"Got beat up by a lass."

"She did this to you?!"

"She did this to all of us. You're the last one."

Choi's eyes became wide.

"She beat up Chief?"

"She beat up the whole squad." Donovan repeated now annoyed. "Get your ass there, now!"

He practically ran the whole way down the training halls stopping only to calm down his breathing and burst through the double door in the most dramatic way possible.

His team barely acknowledged his entry but the girl- Mia as Chief called her- spun around to look at him. She stood alone on the duelling ring platform.

She had a few cuts here and there, but beside a bigger one on her thigh and a bruise forming on her calf she looked fine. There was a small, mischievous smile dancing on her lips when she put her hand on hips and crooked her head looking at him.

That couldn't be said about his team. Every of the eight men sported some kind of injury; from bleeding wounds to broken bones. Wulfrick even laid unconscious on a mat.

"There you are!" Chief growled. "Get on the ring!"

He didn't wait for another que and got up quickly on the platform. There was something thrilling for him in all of this. He always was an adrenaline junkie and Chief often scolded him for this. He never shun away from pushing the limits-it didn't matter if his or others. The challenge in her smile and eyes was irresistible for him.

The moment he had both his feet on the platform he had to doge the first hex. He rolled on the boards and threw a hex of his own. She avoided it with graceful spin and avoided another red beam ducking under it.

They danced around each other for a while, ducking rolling, spinning, blocking, throwing. Sometimes they shouted their spells but mostly they threw non-verbal ones, only baring their teeth in rage. Their sweat and blood dripped on the floorboards of the ring.

_Fuck, she's quick._ Choi thought when he felt another spell graze the skin on his arm with burning heat.

He had to do something to throw her off balance. Something she doesn't expect.

Well, there was that one thing that Chief always said...

He started making his way towards her, still avoiding the angry spells flying towards him. She started to panic seeing him shorten the distance but still held her ground.

When he was close enough Choi launched forward.

His fist reached his target with a loud, sickening crack.

He felt uneasy hearing a group "ooooooh!" from the rest of his team.

Mia staggered backwards; her eyes hazy. Blood trickled from her broken nose. Choi for a second thought that it was it.

But it was a second.

Suddenly her amber eyes became completely conscious and Choi felt a shiver run down his spine.

She launched at him with a wild shriek.

•••

**10 October 1994, MACUSA, Washington D.C.**

"He punched a woman?" I asked with distaste and Johnson shook his head.

"He punched a soldier. She was on a recruiting trial and if she were supposed to join us, we couldn't go easy on her. And Choi did something good there really. Most wizards and witches just don't know how to deal with physical violence. They either go numb or panic."

"What did Mia do?"

Johnson hesitated before responding.

"She threw herself at Choi. Which seemed to be a stupid idea given that he was quite a big lad. But as soon as she was at him, she just...evaporated. Poof!" he went silent and looked at me curiously. "You don't seem surprised at all. And here I thought I would amaze you at least a little bit."

"I've heard about that. I didn't see it personally."

"Yeah, well...back then I've heard about it too. Never saw it earlier. Only read about it. It apparently is some ancient technique. Indian shamans used it during rituals. I have no idea where she learned it. I had no idea she can do this really." he chuckled clearly amused. "I seriously wish I had a Pensieve to show you our faces when she did it. She just turned into smoke and wrapped herself on Choi's arms. And turned back into herself with her arm around his throat. She choked him and tried to throw her off because he didn't want to yield. They stopped when I called the trial off."

"What happened next?" I asked really curious; I must admit I would gladly watch all of this in a Pensieve.

"She was admitted of course. She became a part of the family. I was afraid at first that even if she would pass the trial, she would be treated by boys like a team mascot. But after that show they looked at her with respect. Sometimes even fear. They never had their butts kicked is such spectacular way by a teenager, let alone girl. Everyone gladly welcomed her. Everyone but Choi."

"They didn't get along?"

"They went all cats and dogs at each other. It was unbearable. They pranked each other mercilessly. It went for a year until one reconnaissance mission that went wrong. They barely escaped from hippogriff poachers."

"They stopped bickering then?"

Johnson started laughing.

"They started fucking. And after a while they started dating. It was like in one of those rom-com's muggles like so much. I wouldn't know this, but my wife makes me watch them with her." he added quickly making me chuckle. "From then they were inseparable. They were a strange pair those two. Mia always were the bookish one as for Choi...he was smart but like life-smart. No genius that guy, really, but quite crafty. They balanced each other and seemed to have fun together. Choi really grew up around her and Mia...she laughed back then all the time..."

He trailed off and went silent for a moment; his face had something regretful in it as he clearly remembered something. I asked carefully:

"Why she left the Thunderbirds?"

Johnson looked at me with a sad face.

"It all went down at the end of her third year with us...she went solo on a stealth mission and it went badly. She ended pinned to the bed with burns on her arms. She tried to carry out four people by herself from a building consumed by magic fire. Some sick asshole thought it would be funny to set muggle houses on fire and watch the firemen panic when they can't extinguish it. She followed the suspect to catch him red-handed but before she could arrest him, he already let out some curse and nearby apartment house caught up flames. Mia ran inside and...we found her unconscious in front of the building next to four people she carried out."

Something didn't add up for me.

"She was burned? I didn't see any scars on her arms."

"She started wearing a quite powerful glamour over them when she went into politics. So I guess it's not visible unless you get really close. Until then she wore those without much of a fuss. I think I've got a photo somewhere here. Wait a sec."

He stood up and started to look through a file cabinet in the corner of the office. He murmured something to himself until he pulled out a tattered photo and handed it to me.

It was a group photo; ten men and one woman smiled to the camera laughing and joking around. Mia were there propped up on arms of two men. Her hair was gathered in a ponytail, she was laughing trying to keep her balance. She was wearing a boxer-shirt that uncovered her arms; pink, uneven scars swirled on her shoulders and arms. From time to time she brushed her fingers through hair of man on her left.

"That guy on the left holding her is Choi."

Choi had a dishevelled charm with his contagious smile and unique eye colour. He looked fit and even with the that morbid scar on his face he had something boyish and appealing.

He had that kind of charm you had, Sirius, in school. Don't frown, you're still charming, just in another way.

While I inspected the photo, Johnson started talking again:

"I...remember when I went to check on Mia right after that incident in the hospital hall. I saw Choi there...he watched over her..."

•••

**20 May 1988, Manhattan, New York**

"Mark...what are you doing here?" Capitan Johnson asked quietly. The younger man sat on a chair next to Mia's bed, where she slept peacefully. The healer said she just needed to sleep through the pain and let the potions he gave her work.

Choi's expression was solemn and determined when he looked at her, like he was making a silent oath; one of the kind that is unbreakable.

"Chief...I think it's time for us to go..." he finally said in quiet voice that was so uncharacteristic for him that it made Johnsons skin crawl. "I think we need to leave...I need to talk with her about it. I know she doesn't want marriage and children...she says she's too young and has too many plans to even consider this in next few years...her plight is too important...but we could do it together...I could help her..." Choi took in a shaking breath and Johnson silently thanked that the lights in the room were dimmed and only a single lamp threw bland light on everything.

"Give me two months."

Choi looked at him finally, surprised.

"Give me two months so I could at least find someone to replace one of you. Then go...be happy and do whatever. Just don't forget to invite us to a fucking wedding once you decide." Chief added finally making the other man smile.

"How could we forget? You are family."

•••

**10 October 1994, MACUSA, Washington D.C.**

"But it didn't end up that way, didn't it?" I asked hesitantly; I had a very bad feeling about where this story was heading. Johnson shook his head grimly and bent over; he started to rummage in one of the drawers of his desk. When he straightened up, he held two tumblers and a bottle of Wildes' Finest Bourbon. He poured a solid portion into each glass, moved one towards me and emptied the other in one gulp.

"A month later we got a call from LAAD. Their Aurors finally got a trace of Blake King. Mia has been tracking this sick fucker for a year then...so of course she wanted to go there. But LAAD requested for all of us to go...they...they suspected that a big ambush will be needed to take King down." Johnson sighed. "They were right. King let out...well, our magizoologists said later that it looked like a cross between a chimera and acromantula...several of them...ugly motherfuckers...they...spit out acid...it was a diversion of course, because he just wanted to escape. But killing several people along the way and causing panic was a upside for him. You see...King was a potion master and geneticist. He just emerged one day from whatever hellhole he was hiding in and started to spread his tentacles and distribute Star Dust."

"Star Dust?"

"A drug. He spread it among wizards and muggles. Nasty shit. You could get incredibly high on it, people who went through rehab after that said that the euphory they felt after taking a fix was something otherworldly. But the side effects included memory loss, incredible aggression, uncontrollable sex drive and increased strength. Actually, shit turned people into wild killing machines. You were lucky in the UK. We managed to control it before it spread outside of the States."

"Well, our government sure did a great job hiding the threat, that's for sure." I said sourly; that was a serious issue, and nobody heard about it. Millicent Bagnold was a Minister of Magic back then. Maybe she didn't want to cause panic...or maybe she wanted to get ready for a peaceful retirement without another crisis on her plate.

"Mia wanted to go...that psycho played games with her since he found out who was on his heels. He sent her owls, left her messages in his lairs we raided earlier, trained some junkies whose brains where just mush at that point to recite poetry for her...even sent her flowers on her birthday. You could think that the fucker was in love with her or something. But he was a typical narcissist. He just didn't want her to forget about him. In the end he did something to make sure she never forgets him. And it was all my fault."

Johnson poured himself another glass and motioned for me to drink mine. I politely took a sip and waited till Johnson dry his second glass and continue.

"The ambush went very bad. He somehow knew that we were coming, how many of us would be there, which ways we would get in. He orchestrated everything so we were trapped in an old car factory he was hiding in. We were surrounded by those monstrosities he created..." his eyes were distant an unfocused when he talked, like he replayed that memory in his head. "Grashka threw a Bombarda at one of those things and it just exploded tearing a hole in the wall of the hall...acid was everywhere just eating away the walls and floors around us. If it wasn't for Mias quick reaction with a shield spell we would be a heap of smoking, burned meat already. And King just stood there on one of the technical platforms, like he didn't give a fuck if he dies there under the rubble, guarded by those things. He watched us as we tried to escape. We ran towards the hole, fending off those creatures when Choi screamed, and we stopped to see King with his wand extended and Mark just...wrapped around with chains, being dragged towards those beasts. He lost his wand. Mia ran towards Choi but he screamed for her to get out, to run. That was the moment, the ceiling started to collapse...and...me and Donovan grabbed her and started to drag her towards the exit. She screamed like a banshee, scratched us, trashed...Thank Merlin she was to distressed to turn into smoke. Choi screamed at us to get her out...And that motherfucker...that sick fuck...stood there pulling Choi away from us...and he looked at Mia like she was some interesting research object...Mark...Mark didn't make it."

He filled a third glass and left it untouched.

"After that...Mia was unresponsive for almost a week. Like she was catatonic...Until we got a tip about King's whereabouts...she just went up and went straight up there..."

•••

**1 July 1988, Providence, Rhode Island**

PAD surrounded Blake King from every angle like a wild animal. Despite this he looked unnervingly calm. His wand was still in his hand, hanging loosely at his side.

He was as inconspicuous as he could be; tall and slender with shoulder-length curly hair and warm, gentle, brown eyes with dark circles underneath them. He had a square jaw and pale skin. He was young; as far as their intel went, he just turned twenty-two.

Mia hated this face the most in the world. As soon as she got past the squadron of Aurors surrounding him their eyes met and his thin lips stretched lightly in a polite smile.

He let his wand drop from his long fingers; it bounced from the ground with a silent, hollow click. He lifted his hands in sign of surrender and was immediately swarmed with three of the Thunderbirds, brutally twisting his arms onto his back to cuff him.

Mia and King still looked at each other. His face was perfectly blank when they cuffed him, and when the woman picked up his wand and broke it in half kicking up a shower of sparks.

Only then he asked with his melodic, pleasant voice:

"You're not going to kill me, Mia?"

She thinned her lips with disgust.

"No."

And up to this point Blake King seemed to be innocent, trustworthy even. Someone who hadn't seen him commanding an army of mutated monsters could even think he looks like the romantic, handsome type with his suave way of being and smooth voice.

But the illusion was broken when he was really smiling. His mouth stretched in an ugly way to reveal white teeth with extremely sharp fangs, the corners of his eyes wrinkled making them loose their warm and calm expression. There was something rapacious and brute in his face then, something sinisterly mischievous.

"So I guess I didn't try hard enough."

He chuckled but Wulfrick pushed him forward with such force that it turned into a breathy wheeze. The Thunderbirds led King out and before they threw a silencing charm at him, he said on the leave:

"We will see each other again, my little Thunderbird! I'll miss you!"

•••

**10 October 1994, MACUSA, Washington D.C.**

"She resigned on the same day." Johnson concluded grimly and threw back the third glass of bourbon.

We sat in silence for a long time; I finally finished my drink and Captain Johnson poured me a second one. Guilt and regret emanating from a man sitting on the other side of the desk were almost tangible

He continued without my question.

"Mia then disappeared for six months. Nobody knew where she was, no one had contact with her. When I asked Charlus what was happening to her, he told me not to worry she would be back, she just needed time for herself. Dorea was worried sick, but he insisted they shouldn't look for her. And he was right in the end. Mia came back after six months...she just appeared in MACUSA as a Junior Assistant for Legislation in the office of Senator Hayley Grant. Poof! Like that! That's a prestigious position...but I guess there's nothing that girl couldn't do. We didn't talk...until February this year, on her pops funeral. She told me about the proposal she got from your Minister for International Cooperation. She was different ... from the one Mia I remembered from when she was a girl and different from Mia, I got to know in the Thunderbirds. She was...distant. Reserved. Cold. I've heard that she was meeting that buffoon Magnus Sayre. Then that they split up. And then she was gone. She left to you." he said with a grimace looking me in the eye. "And that's all."

I nodded solemnly and stood up to shake his hand. He returned the gesture looking at me with some strange determination within his eyes.

"Thank you for telling me this. All of this."

I felt his hand squeezes mine tighter, like a vice. His face drew closer to mine ominously.

"Mia Potter is like a daughter for me. And like a sister for eight other baddest motherfuckers on this side of Atlantic Ocean. Just remember...there are lot of people who care about her."

I nodded calmly; I myself have many people I care about so much to start threatening strangers.

Finally, Johnson smiled and said snidely:

"She was right when she said you got nerves and an ass from steel, Lupin. Bolder looking guys would be already pissing their pants."


	9. Chapter 7- Normal

"_Think I drank too much again_  
_Looks like fun, but it's pretend_  
_Why do I try to fit in_  
_When I just wanna go home_

_And I know this isn't like me_  
_I just want people to like me_  
_Got my glass up in the air_  
_And I act like I don't care_  
_And I take some, but I shouldn't_  
_And I say things that I wouldn't_  
_And I'm just part of the crowd_  
_But I feel better now_

_Keep on playing that song that I don't like_  
_I just wanna feel normal for the night_  
_Keep on kissing that guy that's not my type_  
_I just wanna feel normal for the night_  
_I should go, it's getting late_  
_But I'ma keep on dancing 'til I feel okay_  
_So keep on playing that song that I don't like_  
_I just wanna feel normal for the night_ "

Sasha Sloan- Normal

* * *

**11 October 1994, Washington D.C.**

Cloe Rogers responded to me the next day morning with an invitation for a supper at her house in the D.C. suburbs.

Her house looked like from a cover of some fancy 50's magazine; colonial style with white pillars and perfectly maintained autumn flowerbeds and green lawn without a single leave from the red and brown trees framing the whole picture.

Enough to say; I felt very uncomfortable there.

I walked the garden path to the front door and buzzed the doorbell.

Somewhere inside there was a melodious sound and after a moment the door opened abruptly.

Cloe Rogers fitted perfectly to the glamorous house with her porcelain skin and golden hair. She was wearing a princess-style baby blue dress and pinafore.

Her green eyes went wide seeing me and I readied myself for explaining why my dishevelled self-wandered into her perfectly mowed front-lawn.

But she suddenly smiled brightly and threw herself at my neck laughing.

Don't look at me like that Fabian. Imagine how I felt.

As suddenly as she hugged me, she let go of me and clearly embarrassed smoothed down her pinny and smiled shyly at me.

"Oh Circe, I'm sorry! You're Remus, right? Come in, come in!" she let me in and tugged at my coat prompting me to take it off. "I'm so sorry, we don't know each other but I feel like I've known you forever by the way Mia talked about you!"

"What?" I asked feeling a little dazed by this much information.

"Mia Potter! You're here to talk about her, right?" she prompted again with a bright smile motioning me to walk further inside the house.

If you boys thought that Molly Weasley is the ultimate housewife, you should've seen Mrs. Rogers place. Everything from floors to the windowsills almost shone with cleanness. Even Mr. Rogers looked like a prop in some muggle 50's film; he had neatly slicked out brown hair, horn-rimmed glasses and dress pants in fine check.

Of course, he was reading a newspaper, Sirius.

He smiled seeing me and stood up with his hand extended for a shake.

"Oh! You must be Remus! My wife was so excited when you wrote." he looked at her with a tender smile.

"Honey, you remember that you have to pick up kids from my mom?"

The man smiled sheepishly and nodded. He went and picked up car keys laying on one of the drawers. Cloe cleared her throat.

"Honey..." when he looked at her, she pointed at the pot nearby the fireplace. Mr. Roger's eyes went wide.

"Oh right! Sorry..."

When he disappeared in emerald flames, she smiled at me.

"He's muggle. Sometimes it is difficult for him to switch to living in a magical household."

"Where have you met each other?" I asked politely while Cloe seated me at a dining table set up like shelves in Honeydukes.

"Actually we met at MACUSA." she started bustling preparing tea. "He was a representative from muggle Senate. So it's not like he's totally clueless when it comes to magic. But it's hard to teach and old dog, new tricks." she laughed.

When she served tea in a porcelain set, I finally had a chance to ask:

"What do you mean by the way Mia talked about me?"

She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I can't talk about that! We're here to talk about Mia, not you or the Order, silly!"

I almost choked on my tea when she mentioned the Order.

"What? No! I don't mind it! We can talk about me and the Order!"

"Tsk,tsk! She didn't let me talk about it."

"I'm honestly a tad frustrated with all of this." I admitted. "Everyone's so cryptic about things and I feel like I didn't find out anything really important during my stay here."

"Well, maybe you should think why Mia wanted you here. I mean..." she swirled her tea in the cup. "She obviously didn't send you here. But she knew you would come here. She wanted us to trust you. So maybe she wanted you to trust her after this trip?"

I thought about that already.

"But it's difficult to trust someone who feel so...distant. After the last couple of days, I feel like all this time I've been learning about a character from a book. A fascinating book, really, but still- it's not real."

She nodded in understanding.

"I get it. Really. And I speak from position of someone who knew Mia for...17 years now. Circe...so looong!" she laughed. "We met the first day at sorting and we clicked right away. I was so ecstatic when we were sorted into the same house, even though then I didn't feel like I belonged to the Thunderbird House at all. But Mia was there just fine. I always felt that she had too much on her mind. She always did so many things. Knew so many things. Read so many books. Took so many classes. But at the same time had so many passions and met so many people. It was like she was living suspended between these two total contradictions. We had Mia hermit, bookworm and we had Mia social butterfly, the popular girl. But we were closest to her. We were her pack."

"We?"

"There were seven of us. Me, Mia, Rosa, Lottie, Alex, Irene and Theodosius." she motioned that I would help myself with something from the sweets on the table. "We were a strange bunch I will tell you this. We were simultaneously the misfits and the top of our school. Even more since me, Mia and Alex joined the Institiute. It wasn't a popular decision. Women from the Institiute are considered too... liberated. Some even accuse us for using black magic to curse men." she laughed happily. "There are guys that wouldn't eat anything I gave them even if their life depended on that." she added looking at the piece of cake I've put on my plate.

I shrugged and quipped:

"I will not refuse any sweets even if they would kill me."

"Rosa had the same before full moon." she said with a sly smile.

I suddenly felt very cold and the cup I held rattled quietly on the saucer

"I know a werewolf when I see one, Remus. Don't worry. It doesn't bother me at all. As I said, Rosa is a werewolf herself. And MACUSA works really hard to get rid of the stigma. Something Mia's responsible for in great deal." she shrugged clearly ignoring my distress. "Continuing! I We joined the Institiute when we were...fifteen? Theo said he would join with us if this wasn't a 'sisterhood'. But we made him a ceremony for an honorary member of our own sabbath...We really had fun in school. Our group...let's say we supported each other, because it often wasn't just sugar and roses. We all had some demons of our own to fight. So when we found out that Mia was putting a silencing charm on her bed since fist year so we wouldn't hear her scream when she had a nightmare...we made her tell us everything she could then." She looked at me with a pensive expression. "We finished school exceling everything. Mia broke every record there were to break. And we planned. We were seventeen and we had the whole future to plan and make. We...every one of our group were damaged in some way or the other. We really wanted to just be...seventeen for a while."

•••

**20 June 1984, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles**

"Fuck! Rosa! Don't splash the fucking water!" Theo hissed from his sunbed; he was wet, and his sunscreen dripped from his pale chest and legs.

"Language!" Cloe called in a sing-song voice arranging the snacks on the table nearby the pool.

The evening was warm and muggy. On the one side the setting sun blushed the horizon with red, orange and gold, and on the other night already claimed the sky with deep navy-blue coat covered with spare stars. The city below was starrier than the sky above it; the lampposts and car-lights shone from the distance like fireflies dancing around in a chaotic pattern.

They celebrated the end of exams, the end of school and the beginning of their adult life. The Potter summer house was a perfect place for some light-hearted parting, and Charlus and Dorea didn't have any objections when Mia asked them if they could stay there for a week before hitting the road. She laid sprawled on an air mattress and dozed off listening to Theo and Rosa bickering in the background.

Rosa swam around the pool to try as she said, "burn out the alcohol". Alex laid on the other air mattress, topless with her shades on even though sun set down a while ago. Charlotte sat at the edge of the pool sipping her drink. Cloe played the perfect housewife, as always, despite Mia begging her to sit on her ass and leave preparing the snack to the Potters house elf- Gypsy. Irene laid on a sunbed next to Theo reading a book.

"You could think they're married or something." she heard Irene remark and Alex snort and add:

"Don't say it! Mia will get jealous of her bae."

Theo, who must have heard this stood up from his sunbed and said in a grandiloquent tone:

"Mia, if you must know, my fair ladies, is the light of my life! Sun to my moon! Bonnie to my Clyde! Solo to my Chewbacca! Salt to my vinegar! Mac to my cheese!" he declaimed. "But unfortunately, she doesn't have a dick." he ended with a bow making Rosa splash more water at him and Charlotte and Cloe burst into giggles.

"That wouldn't be a problem for true love." Mia called without opening her eyes.

"You have no idea how it pains me that we can only be best bitches." Theo threw himself onto the sunbed with a dramatic sigh.

"Drinks ready! I call for a toast!" Cloe clinked a spoon on her drink glass. Mia and Alex hopped to the pool to swim over the edge with Rosa, Charlotte, Theo and Irene strolled over to the table.

They gathered around the table picking up the drinks Cloe made. They were all laughing, joking and chatting with each other; for the last seven years they lived, learned and grew up together and now "family" was more applicable to them than just "friends".

Cloe lifted her drink and cleared her throat.

"I will start! I want to thank you all for being the best and worst influence for me for the last seven years!" she said causing others to laugh. "I know for fact that we will stay friends for whatever thing will come next. Remember that I will always be there for any of you if you need anything; either a hug, a slap or a good meal!" she motioned towards Rosa. "Your turn, _Señorita_!"

Rosa curtsied and lifted her drink too.

"I've never imagined that going to school I will find such a beautiful bunch of people and that they will become my friends. It wouldn't be possible for me to survive those years if it wasn't for all of you. Mia...your brilliance was a heaven-sent and I really feel like I owe my life to you. I will always be there for all of you. If there's anything I can do for you guys I will do it." she pointed at Charlotte with a mischievous smile. "Lottie, go for it!"

Charlotte laughed and looked at her hand holding the glass clearly embarrassed.

"Before I make a toast...I have to tell you something guys..." she whisked a chain from under her t-shirt. On its end dangled a golden ring with a big sapphire jewel. "Pierre proposed to me after the graduation."

There was a group ear-piercing squeal and the other six enveloped Charlotte in a tangled mess of limbs, hair and wet bodies.

"FUCK MY ASS, LOOOTTIE!"

"AAAA!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YOU'RE MARRYING THE FRENCH BOY!"

"Merlin, let me breathe!" Charlotte laughed detangling herself from her friends embrace. "I'm leaving for Paris in three weeks! Of course, you're all invited to the wedding once we have a date."

"Wow, it's so cool." Irene wept quietly.

"Circe, Irene, don't cry." Alex snickered and looked at Charlotte seriously. "You're sure Lottie? I mean...you wanted to go for a healer..."

"Yeah, I know...but I can go for it there. And...I will miss you guys..." her eyes glossed over with tears while her bottom lip trembled. "I will miss you all so much! You're the best fucking band I've ever met, and I just can't imagine being anywhere without you..."

"We will visit you, Lottie." Mia squeezed her arm reassuringly smiling. "I'm working on something that will help us quickly talk with each other no matter how far we will be."

"Yeah! You won't get rid of us so easily!" Theo laughed throwing his arm around Charlotte and placing a kiss on top of her head, making her smile tearily. She lifted her glass:

"To our pack, to our family! To love, to friendship, bad decisions and good wine!" She jabbed Theo in the ribs. "Now you, pretty boy!"

"Ouch! That's what I get for kindness? Okaaay...so...Alex, thank you for being the best wing-woman a teenager could wish for. Rosa, thank you for being the best, most hairy little sister I've never dreamt I would have. Irene, thanks to you I've mustered up the strength to finish school; you're a beast in the library, girl! Lottie...you know what for...Thank you. Cloe, I will miss having you around Kinky Mama Bear, maybe I will finally loose those two pounds though. Mia..." he looked at her with a little bit sad smile. "...I never thought I would meet my soulmate in such a way. Merlin...it could be worse...or better...I don't know...it doesn't matter now. What matters for me it's that we found each other. And that you're my best friend. I'm always here for you, please remember that. For all off you girls." he looked around and laughed "Best witches in the world! Mia, go girl!"

Mia smiled lifting her drink; she's been unusually quiet for most of the day, clearly deep in thought.

"I just wanted to say that you are my family. My fourth family as you all know. And this year is the last year I consider myself free from any worries. After that...I'm sorry if you won't hear from me very often, or if I'm distant, busy, unresponsive. When all the things I must take care of will end...I promise we'll meet again here. In the same squad." she looked around them teary-eyed. "And I will be again the friend that you all deserve. I promise."

Irene stepped forward and enveloped Mia in a hug.

"You'll always be the best friend. Don't worry about us."

"Yeah! You do you, boo. We'll manage." Alex added. "Just be careful and call us for back-up if anything happens."

"Thanks guys...Irene, it's time for your toast"

"To the Brilliant Seven! May everything go as we plan, because we will change this world for sure! I love you all!" Irene extended her arm and they all clinked their glasses with a cheerful shout.

There was some sense of finality in that evening, making them so pathetically sentimental. They couldn't help but feel that some stage of their life's just ended and left them robbed from everything that until now was safe and certain.

•••

Mia and Theo sat silently on the edge of the swimming pool with their legs in the water. They looked at the city below, slowly waking up with the first sunbeams seeping through at the horizon.

Alex fell asleep sometime earlier at the sunbeds; they covered her and Cloe with blankets. Irene, Lottie and Rosa went to sleep in the house.

Cloe tried to fall asleep for the last two hours, but the moon shone too brightly, and she still felt hot from the alcohol she poured into herself that evening. She really tried not to eavesdrop their friend's conversation by the pool, but it proved to be futile.

So she laid there listening and wondering how these two could be so close yet so far from each other. Her heart ached when she thought about that.

They looked like the total opposites. Theo was tall and slim. His straight, almost white hair shimmered in the light of dawn, falling heavily into his eyes. He was mostly pale but he tanned a little for last week with made his teal eyes even more intense in colour. Mia was short and petite and while Theo was all cold colours and sharp lines, Mia with her golden-brown skin, soft locks and amber eyes was all about warmness.

Irene one day inspired by another romance novel she read said that with their looks Mia could be the sun while Theo could be the moon.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Theo asked quietly. Mia breathed out a laugh and shook her head.

"I can't stop thinking about them you know? How can we be...? How can I? When there is this boy...those kids that could die so horribly one day? Some of them will never see their eighteenth birthday."

"Why you're the one who worries about it? It's not your fight..."

"It is. And I don't want to think 'why me' or something like that because I will go insane. That won't make any sense regardless so why bother?"

"We're...damaged." Theo said.

"Really damaged." Mia admitted.

"I thought about what Irene said. We're not special. We don't choose who lives or dies. We deserve a normal life, without all of this. You don't have any power over what will happen next.

"I want to be normal. I want to forget all of that. I don't want to know...But I do. So I have that power."

"I...Mia...you know what I want to say." Theo's voice sounded like he was in pain. "I want to help you so much..."

"I know. But I won't allow you. It's not your fight." she smiled sadly at him. "I'm already engaged in something that's too dangerous for anyone to go there with me."

"You've made that boy's life better already. He's got a father thanks to you." he hesitated before asking. "You've checked on them, recently haven't you? That's why you're so nostalgic?"

She nodded making her short curls bounce. She bit her lips nervously.

"They're at Aussie still. Harry seems so happy." she smiled but her face instantly dimmed with sorrow.

"And that guy?"

"He...he seems lonely."

"You can't give him a sign? Something for him to know that he isn't alone with all of this?"

"No Theo. I can't. It's too early."

"When it won't be? Wouldn't it always be too early?"

She didn't respond which on Theo sighed tiredly and combed fingers through his hair.

"I won't leave you with this shit Mia. Merlin, don't make me..."

"Remember that deal we made after the sixth year? When we decided on this road trip?"

"I want to back out of it!" he said a little louder and instantly looked at the two unmoving silhouettes laying on the sunbeds. When he made sure that their friends are asleep, he turned again to Mia. "You can't just simply expect me to leave you behind."

"I do. And you will. It will be healthier for us than this limbo we're in right now. I want you to find your happiness." she picked up his hands and squeezed lightly. "You deserve this. I want to hear you in radio one day. Or be able to buy your record. You won't be able to do this helping me."

"What about your happiness?" he asked furrowing his brows.

"I will manage. You won't have to worry about me."

"So I will have you near for next year only? And then until..."

"Yeah. Until I'm done...but we will talk, I promise." Mia smiled.

"I love you." Theo blurted out a little desperately and suddenly hissed like he was in pain. Mia let go of his hands with guilt written all over her face.

"I love you too." she said quietly.

"But it's not enough." he added.

"Sometimes it's not." she admitted.

They fell silent again and sat there until the sun raised above the horizon. Then they both stood up and after hugging each other quickly went separate ways; Theo to prepare breakfast and Mia to wake up the girls.

•••

**11 October 1994, Washington D.C.**

"Again, I have a feeling like I'm listening to plot of some book." I became really engaged in Mia's story. Like in a good novel I felt for every of her hurts and downfalls; this was frustrating. "They've seen each other after that road trip?"

Cloe nodded; she clearly still felt guilty about overhearing that conversation.

"Yes, they've seen each other a few times. I guess it would be more often if Theo was on better terms with his brother."

"Brother?"

"Yes. Magnus Sayre."

"They're brothers!?"

Cloe snorted and stood up.

"You have no idea." She walked to a bookshelf and took down a giant photo album. She put it on the table and started looking through it; hundreds of moving faces and silhouettes flashed with the rustle of pages and movement of small, manicured hands. Finally, she found the picture she looked for and pointed it without a word.

It was clearly a picture from graduation ceremony.

In the middle, stood Mia in a black, short dress crossed with a purple sash and matching heels. She had a pointy hat with wide brim on her head. She smiled brightly showing off her Ilvermorny Diploma to the camera. When I compare this Mia to the one we know now I can finally say how uptight and tired is the one we know.

On both each of her sides, hugging her, stood two young men. They looked almost like mirror reflections; both tall with fair, almost white hair. They've both where so pale that if it wasn't for their teal eyes and darker brows, they would look like albinos. The differences where slight; one looked more laid-back with his hair and robes in an artistic mess with an identical purple sash. The other had wire-frame glasses and looked more neatly and more reserved than his brother. He had a bright blue sash.

But there was something uncanny about them. They looked too doll-like, too perfect. Their hair shined too much and their eyes had that unusual colour...

Then it dawned on me.

"Veela...Twins?"

"Magnus and Theodosius. The one and only Sayre twins. Half-veelas. Their mother was one." she looked over my shoulder at the photo. "Guess which one is which?" there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

I looked again at the photo trying to figure out the dynamics of the trio. The twin with glasses when looking at camera had a face of polite indifference, but when he looked at Mia his eyes got softer and more focused, and his lips crooked in a small smile. But the laid-back one...he looked at her in the same way.

"Oh my, that's no good." I said quietly making Cloe laugh.

"Oh, really? It got worse over the years. Those two...they were like two sides of a coin. They couldn't be different. Mia really tried to make them get along better. But it just ended in this messy situation when Mia and Theo wanted to be with each other but couldn't and Magnus wanted to be with Mia but couldn't...and oh, that was so awkward, really." she concluded with a sigh supporting her face on the palm of her hand.

"Why they couldn't be with each other?"

"Theo always said that's because he liked boys more. But that was just an excuse. He dated girls and guys the same. We never really knew why they didn't hit it on, they were like...made for each other it seemed. But one night on the road trip he got soooo drunk because at one of our longer stops, it was at Green Bay I believe, Mia got an invitation for a festival from one of the locals. And she accepted it. Theo was so sad that evening..."

•••

**4 September 1984, Green Bay, Wisconsin**

"I'm unfair." Theo mumbled taking another gulp from the bottle of wine he held. "We agreed that it's okay. I've dated and she didn't even mention it..." he groaned burying his face in the crook of his arm.

Alex and Cloe glanced at each other quickly; they found him in their hotel room at 2 a.m. emptying the room bar.

"Theo, maybe you just should hit it on? I mean..." Alex looked at Cloe for a help.

"You should at least try a relationship." Cloe said in a firm tone.

They didn't expect Theo to laugh, so they were taken aback by his hysterical giggles.

"You two think she would be there with some redneck asshole and not with me if we could be together?! You think I would allow this?! That I'm such a sissy to just let go of her?! I'M NOT MY BROTHER!" he suddenly shouted and the bottle in his hand broke into tiny pieces.

"Theo!" Alex grabbed his hand to check for glass and Cloe immediately started cleaning the mess with her wand.

"I'm cursed. I'm fucking cursed." Theo mumbled when Alex removed glass pieces from his palm.

"Stop moving around! What the hell are you talking about?!" Alex hissed.

"My blood is cursed!" he hissed back still trying to snatch back his hand.

Cloe froze with her eyes wide.

"What?!"

"What? What does that mean?" Alex looked confused between them; raised in a muggle household she didn't know much about hereditary curses.

"My blood is bad. I didn't know it until I've met a Potter..."

"What the hell does that mean?" Alex repeated with more force.

"Blood curse is a hereditary curse. It can trigger in every member of the family and it can have various effects." Cloe said. "It's very, very rare."

"And the fate wanted that I'm the one who suffers." he said blankly finally relaxing his body and letting Alex check his hand.

"What are the effects?" Cloe asked softly sitting across him and capturing his heated gaze.

"It started in the first year...Just painful jabs. My heart felt like someone gripped it hard and squeezed. I didn't connect it with Mia at first...we were kids...I loved her back then, but it was innocent. That hand-holding, hugs...But then the fourth year came...we kissed day after Valentines Day. And I...I thought I was dying...We started suspecting that something wasn't right..." he winced remembering the pain. "It was that moment when we told you I've went to the hospital wing because a pixie bit me." Theo chuckled. "So stupid."

"So...you can't touch each other?" Alex asked slowly.

"Yeah...we...we can't touch each other. And it's getting worse and worse. Mia predicts that if we stay with each other too long it will hurt because of her mere presence."

"That's awful!" Cloe gasped quietly.

"But...what about your brother? Why you mentioned him?"

Theo looked at his friends with glassy eyes.

"He loves her too. And he's not cursed. But he let her go. 'Mia's not mine, brother. And she's neither yours to have. Let her go.' AS IF I HAD A CHOICE!" a mirror on the wall broke with a loud clink making all of them jump.

"But why Mia? Why it doesn't hurt to touch others? She's adopted, right? She's not a Potter by blood..."

He shrugged apathetically and Cloe answered again.

"Magical adoption is as important as blood ties. She's a Potter and clearly the curse recognizes her as one."

"We don't know. We looked everywhere. We even asked her parents. It hurts to hold their hands... And my father...you know...I can't ask him that..." he suddenly sobbed and Alex hugged him gently. "Why us? Why her? Why I have to love her?" He buried his face in her arm and cried.

The girls fell silent lost in their thoughts, sometimes looking at each other, sometimes at their friend. They sat like that until Theo cried himself to sleep.

Cloe and Alex hoped that he won't remember much in the morning.

11 October 1994, Washington D.C.

"That's...horrible." I said.

"You have no idea...Holding your friend like this...while he cries his heart out..."

I guess I have some idea in that matter.

"I...actually know what it's like."

She smiled sympathetically and patted my hand.

"I know, darling, I know. You've been through war after all."

"So after your road trip Mia went to work with Thunderbirds?" I asked taking a cookie from the tray. "I talked yesterday with Capitan Johnson."

Cloe clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Another unfortunate soul. Sometimes I have a strange feeling that every man that had any closer contact with Mia is condemned to bad fate."

"Why?"

"I don't know! But if you think about it, it's true! I know it's not malicious on her side. But men just..." she shrugged. "She has something in her. And Capitan Johnson...who treated her like a daughter...blames himself right now for Mark's death. Mia wasn't the same after that. She blames herself on the other hand. It's basically a mess right now." reaching for the kettle she tapped it with the tip of wand making it whistle and shoot out steam. When she refilled our cups, she continued talking. "We've met Mark. He and Mia...they were really good together and there was a lot of love there, between them. He was sweet and caring and made her laugh. Mia for the first time ever mentioned a family of her own." I saw her eyes dart to the fireplace and the framed photos of Mr. Rogers and two golden-haired toddlers. "After Mark's death, when they arrested that psycho she went to Charlotte and Pierre to Paris for six months to detach herself. She rarely spoke back then...like she was...I don't know how to describe it. Locked up in her own head? Like she just locked herself inside to shield from the mental pain she was in. She lost weight, stopped eating...stopped taking care of herself. Just sat on the balcony in Charlotte's apartment and did nothing. We went together...but I was helpless. She would just ignore me or smile sadly at every suggestion I've made. Theo joined us as soon he heard about all of this and miraculously Magnus tagged along. The two of them visited her often. Sometimes together but mostly alone. Theo visited Mia so often that she threw him out one day when she caught him wince in pain in her presence. But it was Magnus that surprised me the most...he was so..." she stopped looking for a word. "...determined...I've heard he started looking into Blake King's origins and history. He investigated everything there was to investigate. And every piece of evidence he found he handed over to the MACUSA Court Of Justice. Just to be sure that this freak would end up locked up forever...He juggled between this, his job as a transfiguration teacher in Ilvermorny and visiting Mia. And finally...one day he snapped.

•••

**20 October 1988, Paris, France**

The terrace in Lottie's and Pierre's Devaux apartment overlooked at the Eiffel Tower and Seine. The sun flickered at the restless river waters. The sky was absurdly blue, the day inappropriately bright and city was disgustingly busy and crowded. People moved between fiery autumn trees in relaxed, walking pace.

But despite that the apartment was a quiet and safe haven; a bubble where Mia could barricade herself from the rest of the world.

She spend her days sitting in a big, wicker armchair looking at the sky or sleeping in her guest room with the curtains fully closed. Pierre was on a business trip; he left two weeks after Mia came. He was very placable and didn't ask questions, just welcomed her and just said that she could stay as long as needed.

Charlotte was in home; three months pregnant with a small baby-bump she readied herself for welcoming little Ariel on the world.

Cloe, ran around both of them; trying to convince Mia to leave the apartment for a moment and Charlotte to sit down and let her take care of everything.

She failed in both things.

After two weeks Theo came to them and checked on Mia almost everyday which irritated her. He repeated that such feelings are better than apathy. Until two days earlier Mia's stinging hex missed his head by an inch; he knew it was a first warning. Mia never missed.

"The weather's pretty today." Mia heard a familiar voice behind her. She sat on the wicker armchair, rolled up in a ball with knees under her chin. She glanced above her shoulder to see Magnus standing in the balcony door with an awkward smile and glasses slightly crooked on his nose. His hair reflected the light brightly.

He always had this scholar vibe about him that his brother lacked. His voice was calm and confident, and he never swore. His patience was almost unwavering. He was the prefect teacher.

When she turned away in response he stepped closer; he held a box in his hand and a book in the other.

"My...Theo...said not to be an unsensitive...prick." he said with a little hesitation; Theo most definitely didn't use the word 'prick'. "So _unpricklishly_ I've brought you some chocolates and a book."

She looked at him again. Magnus saw a little, thankful smile dancing on her lips but her eyes where still empty.

"I... Maybe you would like to go to the Bibliotheque Nationale today? Cloe said you hadn't seen it yet. It's beautiful..." he walked closer and put his gifts on a table nearby. He leaned his back on the balcony railing. His face now was a mixture of longing and sadness. "Please, tell me what I can do to make you respond to me just once..."

When she didn't answer and just looked away Magnus swore loudly. She looked back at him; this time with big eyes. She couldn't recall a single time she heard him curse.

"Fuck...FUCK! Damn it, Mia! Don't do this! Don't turn your back on people who care about you. I know you've lost someone close...someone you loved. Probably more truly than you ever loved my brother or me on that matter..." he spoke quickly, heatedly and his teal eyes burned with anger. "But you have a family here, worrying about you! I've may never been so close to you as Theodosius but you can't just fucking ignore me all the time. Screw this, you can ignore ME, but don't ignore Charlotte or Cloe! They're your sisters for fuck sake!" he ran his long hair through his fingers in frustration. Mia noticed that he looked much less put together than usual; his hair was dishevelled and too long and he was wearing an unusual for him cardigan and t-shirt instead of a shirt or just a robe. "You have no idea how painful it is to see you like that. Merlin knows how much I've wished for you to be happy. I was so content knowing that you are somewhere just happy with him. But now...you've got to take care of yourself! Mark would want that. WE really want that!" he came up to her and slumped to the floor beside her, grabbing her hand. It was another gesture quite unlike him; he usually kept his distance and, unlike Theo, he wasn't a cuddly, touchy type. He pressed her hand to his cheek and placed a chaste kiss inside her palm shutting his eyes tightly. "Please, tell me what to do. I'll do anything..."

They sat like that in silence for a longer moment and Magnus was about to give up when Mia spoke:

"I'm sorry Magnus." He looked at her surprised, but when he saw her smile, this time with her eyes looking at him fully conscious and warm he smiled back. "We can go to the Bibliotheque, today."

"Okay! Go get ready." he stood up and held out his hand to help her. "I'll wait." he added, and Mia knew he meant so much more than this day.

•••

**11 October 1994, Washington D.C.**

"They started seeing each other?"

Cloe shook her head.

"Another year passed before they started. Along the way Lottie asked Mia and Theo to be Ariel's godparents. But Theo declined saying that he won't be able to participate enough because of his tours and concerts. So Lottie asked Magnus and he agreed. And she to this day says it was the best decision." she turned a couple pages and pointed to another photo in her album. There was Mia holding a bundled infant looking down on it with a wondered smile. Magnus stood beside with his arm around Mia and looked at both them with the same admiration Mia looked at the child. "So Mia came back to the States and started working for MACUSA. She started seeing Magnus in September 1989. Me and Hector married in October that year and they went together to the weeding making it official. Theo...well, Theo took it bad but he handled it better that everyone thought he would. Next year they rented a flat together in Washington with a Floo connection to the Ilvermorny. Their carriers were dynamic and press called them the 'Washington Power-Couple'." she shook her head. "Those headlines were just absurd.'"

"American dream?" I quipped sourly.

"American bullshit more like." she said, clearly angry at the thought. "It all looked perfect on the outside. But on the inside...Mia and Magnus started fighting a lot after a while. The pressure for the job and outside world just grew and they just started taking it on each other. There were happy times when they got along...but these were moments. The worst period started when Mia got the proposition from your Ministry to take up a position in the UK. A year and a half ago." she shook her head.

"Why? Magnus didn't like it?"

"Not a one bit. Firstly he dismissed it as something unreal. But when it became apparent that she really meant it he...well he did the worst thing a guy can do when he feels he's losing control in the relationship."

I crooked a brow.

"He proposed?"

She nodded with a tight smile.

"He proposed."

"It went badly?"

"Remus, dear..." she leaned towards me with an expression of someone who has some spicy gossip to share. "It went HORRIBLY."

•••

**19 September 1993, Washington D.C.**

Mia dragged herself up the stairs to their floor slowly; that day was just one long, boring meeting. She felt exhausted and sleepy and just wished for a glass of wine and a hot bath.

She just hoped that Magnus wasn't home.

They fought a lot recently and just the previous evening they went to sleep after shouting at each other for an hour; she cried herself to sleep in their bed in Washington and he went to sleep in his bed in Ilvermorny.

Last time they ended sleeping in different beds they haven't spoke for two weeks.

Mia opened the flat door and instantly yanked her wand from the holster.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" the light in the living room lit up revealing a whole room of her friends and co-workers with Magnus standing at front of them with a puzzling smile.

Mia looked at them with big eyes and then looked at Magnus narrowing them suspiciously. He walked toward her and side-hugged her placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Happy birthday sweetheart."

"Magnus...what's all of this?"

He shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"You have such a rough time lately...and I wasn't helping really...so I though some fun would be good right now." he kissed her head again. "Go change, we'll wait."

She threw a glance at her sabbath; besides Charlotte and Rosa who she knew were abroad. Alex, Irene and Cloe looked at her knowingly when she motioned with her head towards the bedroom. She smiled at Magnus and made her way to the bedroom along the way thanking a few friends and co-workers she saw.

When her girls walked after her she closed the door and leaned at it with panic all over her face.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is."

Irene looked away chewing her lip, Cloe twisted her hands in a nervous gesture and Alex shook her head pitifully.

Mia slumped a little lower at the door.

"Oh Lilith...Oh fuck..." she mumbled. "He can't do this. We talked about it so many times."

"He tries to manipulate you." Alex huffed. "So fucking immature. Poor boy doesn't know that he will be the one who ends up humiliated."

"Alex, don't say that..." Irene scolded her and looked at Mia with a pleading expression. "Try to talk with him now before he does something drastic. You can say we told you...just try to handle it without much drama."

"If guy wants drama then why she shouldn't give it to him?" Alex asked incredulously. "He thinks Mia is some princess he can trap here without her saying anything."

Cloe cut in preventing Irene from retorting.

"It's about UK, right?" she asked seriously pinning Mia down with her eyes.

Mia looked away.

"Yes."

"Did you even talk with him about it? Does he know?"

"No. It's not his burden to take..." she crossed her arms and rubbed. "Besides...he wouldn't believe me."

"Mia...just try. How he's supposed to understand if he doesn't know?"

Mia sighed heavily; she lost weight recently again and dark circles under her eyes said everything about the quality of her sleep.

"I'll try...but...I really thought a lot recently about it and..." she broke off and shook her head frowning. "Whatever...I'd better talk with him. Thanks girls."

"No probs. You do you boo." Alex gave Mia a quick hug and motioned Cloe and Irene to follow her out of the room. The girls hugged Mia on their way out and left her there alone to change and think.

•••

"Magnus, we need to talk..." Mia found Magnus in the kitchen preparing her cake and chatting with his friends from Ilvermorny which she didn't like. She threw them a glance adding. "Alone."

The pair looked at her strangely but didn't move until she lifted her brow and looked them up expectantly. They shuffled out the kitchen looking apologizingly at Magnus.

She turned to face Magnus; he lifted his brow mirroring her expression from a moment ago; something that railed her up mercilessly every time. She took a deep breath and repeated:

"We need to talk Magnus."

He leaned over the counter.

"What's wrong? What do you want to talk about?"

"This..." she motioned toward the cake and the kitchen entrance where the party sounds came from. "All of this."

"I know, Mia. This is sudden...and after yesterday I guess you could still be mad at me..." he actually looked sheepish with his glasses crooked on his nose, rubbing the back of his neck. He grew out his hair through the previous year and it curled at the collar of his shirt. "I really want to start over. We've been stressed out lately...and I know you feel like you're going nowhere with the Act..."

"It's not that Gus!" she started impatiently but he cut her off taking her hand in his and squeezing them with a tender expression.

"We can start again. You don't have to run away...this is not a solution. You can achieve everything, sweetheart. We can achieve everything...I thought about it a lot. And I think we should buy something of our own. We can afford it; we don't need to rent a place. I know we agreed to take it slow. But it's been three years...we could start over with that." he picked up her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles in that familiar way that usually melted her heart but right now just chilled her when she realised, he didn't want to listen.

"Magnus we really need to talk about it...you don't understand. I really have reasons for that. We need to talk about it, it's not just my whims...I really..."

"I know Mia. I know it haven't been easy for you lately. But I'm ready, we can get through this together. I have a surprise for you...I really can't wait to see your face when you see it." he kissed her forehead, smiled to her and walked out of the kitchen leaving Mia standing there in shock.

•••

"Can I have your attention?!" Magnus called in the living room. Mia walked out of the kitchen and her sabbath sisters immediately could tell that the talk didn't went so well; her face was a little ashen and her eyes were wide and terrified.

Cloe thought that it was so unlike Mia. That basically Mia was so unlike Mia lately; she always had great social skills but through last couple of years she withdraw herself mostly and acted almost...shy. Right now, she looked like she was about to faint. In retrospect Cloe wished for Mia that she just fainted right then and there because the mess that unfold was something that would be on the lips of Washington gossip dealers for years.

"I really wanted to do this for a long time...because...It's just the thing a man wants to do when he's in love, right? And I have the luck to be in love with the most brilliant, beautiful and sweet witch that walked the face of the earth." Magnus said with a smile looking at Mia; how he didn't see her distress was a mystery for Cloe. Here and there a quiet 'awww' erupted from someone. Some witches dried the corners of their eyes with their handkerchiefs.

Cloe glanced nervously at Alex and Irene.

Alex looked cautiously between Mia and Magnus clearly waiting for a good moment to interrupt without causing a scene. Irene twisted a lock of her hair around her finger with her eyes glued to Mia.

"Magnus..." Mia started weakly but he cut her off again taking her hands into hers and fell on one knee before her.

Cloe saw Mia mouthing silently 'Fuck' over and over.

"Mia. Will you make me the honour and be..." he let go of one of her hands and reached into his pocket and retrieved a small jewellery box. He was about to open it and pop the question but in that exact moment Mia's expression harden suddenly. She regained her voice and said with force:

"No."

Magnus face fell in shock and the room went silent.

"Mia..." he started weakly, but she cut him off just like he did a couple of times this evening only.

"I won't marry you, Magnus. We talked about it over and over. But you just don't know how to listen. You. Never. Listen." she snatched her hand from his loosen grip and straighten herself proudly. "I'm not some trophy wife. I thought you knew. I wanted to talk with you just before this. But you ignored me. So now..." she looked around the guests linking her eyes with Cloe, Irene and Alex for a second before turning again to Magnus still kneeling with the box outstretched. "Now you learn the hard way. I'm sorry."

With that Mia turned on her heel, toward the apartment door, took her coat off the hanger, picked up her bag and left closing the door behind her. There was a moment of silence where Magnus still kneeled on the floor looking numbly at the box in his hand.

Finally Alex called out to the rest of guests:

"I guess that means the party's over, ey? Get yo' asses out of here people. Nothing to watch here!"

•••

**11 October 1994, Washington D.C.**

We sat in silence for a while sipping tea before I finally asked:

"Why she didn't want to marry him?"

Cloe shrugged noncommittally and stirred her tea.

"Firstly, I think she loved Magnus but not in that way. Secondly, she never wanted marriage really. She is her own woman. The only moment when she mentioned starting a family of her own was with Mark. After his death...I think Magnus was a heal patch after that. Mia really wanted to get back to normal...try a normal life at all..." she broke off deep in thought before adding "Lastly the vision of moving to UK loomed over her. She couldn't ask Magnus to go with her. Skipping the fact, he would refuse with his career in Ilvermorny blooming. He became deputy headmaster recently."

"What's with moving to UK?"

Cloe's expression became cautious like she didn't want to say too much.

"Oh, she had planned it for years now. One way or another she knew she would end up there." she shrugged again. "She was determined. We all knew it. Even Magnus. But I guess he didn't want to let her go once he got her. Big mistake on his part."

She put down her teacup and started going through the photo album until she stopped on a page completely occupied by a magazine cover.

It was a cover from Moder Witch Magazine where Mia became the heroine of their cover in May 1994. I found this cover while going through the media coverage.

The cover photo showed a portrait of Mia; looking slightly up, above the photographer's head like she was looking towards the bright future the article talked about. She was illuminated from behind by a golden light giving a soft halo around her soft locks. Her amber eyes looked incredibly light and piercing. Her expression was solemn and simultaneously dreamy.

The article and interview inside are one of the pieces I've copied and brought back with me. I think it's quite interesting and gives some insight in the style of politics that Mia prefers.

"I've seen this in the MACUSA Great Archives."

She smiled.

"So you've met Irene already."

That explained why the lady helped me so quickly and gladly. I felt a little uneasy at this; exactly how many steps ahead Mia was?

"That's where she announced she will be claiming the position in your Ministry. Public opinion was divided; some said it was a great success to take such a prestigious position in such a noble and ancient Ministry like the United Kingdom's Wizard Community. Some said it's a degradation for someone who was considered next MACUSA President in upcoming decade. You know...such a bright, young witch being send to some backwater country. No offence."

"None taken." I waved my hand dismissively and she continued.

"When the article came out a month after the Werewolf Inclusion Act passed in the MACUSA. That was...an incredible evening for all of us really. Rosa was ecstatic." she said in a dramatic tone picking up her teacup. "And Mia triumphed."

•••

**14 April 1994, MACUSA Congress Hall, Washington D.C.**

"My honourable fellow Congresswomen and Congressmen. I presented to you my project and the representatives of the American Werewolf community who agreed to out themselves so publicly which I'm incredibly grateful for." she motioned toward the group of three sitting on her right beside the rostrum in the middle of the Congress Hall. Her eyes lingered on Rosa who seemed calm but the white knuckles of her hands tightly gripping the hem of her robe said everything. The other two, a man from Oregon Mia contacted a couple month earlier and a woman from L.A. Rose found in a werewolf bar there, were visibly terrified by being there.

Mia looked again at the people before her and continued.

"We are talking about our citizens. Thousands and thousands of people every year are forced to go through their transformation in unsafe and dangerous conditions. Only the wealthiest can afford better circs. Holding a job with lycanthropy can be hard but not impossible. The same goes for fulfilling the compulsory education as the example of Miss Gomez shows. The Wolfsbane Potion is the solution for less painful and more conscious transformation. Refoundation of this specific potion is fundamental to the success of the whole programme. I handed over the estimate to all of you month ago and as you could see in my calculations the cost of the whole program is something that won't even scratch the budget and it will increase tremendously the well-being of almost 9% of the United States Wizarding Community." she summed up her presentation. She took a second to make eye contact with few people in the stands. "We, the Congress can change that. We can help with all these people. It's in your hands now my friends. I leave the vote to you. I leave you to choose what's right. And I believe that you will choose the right thing." she paused looking around one last time  
"Thank you for your attention."

She bowed her head slightly and left the rostrum after her guests. She grabbed Rosa's cold hand and squeezed it firmly. Rosa squeezed back looking forward with a blank expression. They took their seats on the audience stands.

Joseph Moore, President of the MACUSA, spoke from his place at the presidium table.

"Thank you for your presentation Congresswoman Potter. I think it gave many of us some insight on how we can deal with the lycanthropy epidemy of last two decades..." he hit the table beside him with a small wooden hammer. "We will now vote! Who is in favour of implementing the proposal of the Lycanthropy Act submitted by Congresswoman Mia Potter?"

There were wands raised and the Congress Hall lit up with hundreds of flickering green sparkles.

"Who is opposed to implementing the proposal of the Lycanthropy Act submitted by Congresswoman Mia Potter?"

And again, wands were raised and this time red sparkles lit up the room. But there were apparently fewer of them.

Mia and Rosa looked at each other barely holding back their excitement.

Moore hit again his desk and said:

"As the President of MACUSA I announce that the Potter's Lycanthropy Act is officially in force."

The roar that was heard in the room was practically deafening. Mia and Rosa hopped on their feet and in each other's arms crying.

"You did it! Mia you did it!" Rosa wept happily into her friends' arm.

"We did it! We both did it Rosie!" she corrected feeling the tears stream down her face. She looked above Rosa's arm at the hall in which people cheered shamelessly; many wizards and muggles touched by lycanthropy came to the voting as it was the first time someone even brought up the struggle of their community to the MACUSA.

She saw Theo in the corner of the hall; his bright hair reflected the dim light illusive way. He caught her eyes and smiled waving. Mia smiled back gratefully, knowing that he couldn't come closer to her. But he still came knowing how important it was to her and to Rosa.

The rest of the day passed by in a flurry of people shaking her hand, congratulating the win, asking questions over and over. But the sweet taste of victory was tainted by the bitter thought about loneliness awaiting back in her empty apartment.

•••

**11 October 1994, Washington D.C.**

"That was a huge break in...well life...for many people. And for the next three months Mia overlooked the insertion of the Act. It was wild. Generally speaking last year was wild for her. That...her father's death...the move and other stuff." Cloe leaned back with a thoughtful face and asked. "You don't happen to have a cigarette on you, don't you?"

"No, sorry I don't smoke."

"Go figure." she smiled in a strange way. "You look like a goody two shoes. Eh... I would kill for a cig right now." she groaned kicking off her heels. "That's a nasty habit I had to kick when I had the twins...but sometimes when I'm stressed I just crave one like a madwoman."

"You're stressed? Why?"

She sighed heavily; she really looked stressed for the first time during our conversation.

"It's still fresh, you know? Last months took quite a tool on us. All of us. We had our dealings. So Mia proposed a get-together in the Potters L.A. house. Like ten years ago. We were supposed to blew off some steam and relax for a couple of days. Only girls. I mean Theo was invited but for obvious reasons he couldn't arrive. So it was only us..."

•••

**9 July 1994, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles**

"_Hello, daddy! Hello, mom! I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb! Hello world! I'm your wild girl. I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!_" Mia and Alex howled to the recording clutching their drinks to prevent them from spilling around the carpet in the spacious living room of the Potters summer house.

Irene and Cloe laughed at something sitting huddled at the couch while Charlotte with focused expression, sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth tried to pour the perfect amount of rum into her drink. Rosa dozed off at the chair; the beer bottle in her hand tipped dangerously to the side.

They clearly needed this; they needed to see each other, goof around and just stop thinking for a while. Cloe noted with satisfaction that Mia looked almost normal; the worried lines on her face relaxed and the dark circles under her eyes faded a little bit through past four days.

"Guurrls!" Charlotte called out slurring a little. Her Louisiana accent became prominent when she was drunk.

"What is it Lottie?" Alex called out through the music.

"I luv you y'all! Those Parisian bitches ain' shit when it comes to you!" she took a few steps towards Mia and Alex and tripped over the hem of the rug landing on Rosa and starling her. Rosa's beer and Charlotte's drink spilled on the rug while the rest of the girls laughed looking at them try to detangle from each other.

Mia shook her head with amusement looking at the whole situation when the doorbell rang startling the girls.

"Uhm...you ordered pizza or something?" Alex looked confused.

"No." Mia shook her head and squezeed her wand reassuringly. "It must be someone we know. Who can pass the wards. A pizza guy would see an old shack here."

"Maybe it's Theo?" Rosa aske from beneath Charlotte; she gave up trying to detangle from her friend who wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller woman in a wave of drunken affection.

"He shouldn't come here and he knows it." Mia said hesitantly.

"Yeah, but you know how he is." Cloe said with a small smile. "He hasn't really seen you in four years."

Mia sighed; it was true. Last time they saw each other in person, sat in each other's company face to face was in Paris when she recovered from her heartbreak after Mark's death. She missed Theo, they tried to write and talk to each other as often as they could, but it wasn't the same. Inevitably, she felt that they drifted apart over the years.

The doorbell rang again.

"I'll take care of the mess, go get it." Cloe encouraged her gently. With a nod Mia went to answer the door.

When she looked through the peephole at first, she thought it was Theo, but then she saw glasses and a little longer hair...

"Magnus?" she asked uncertainly cracking up the door. She didn't expect him there.

"Hi Mia." he looked good. Certainly better than a couple of months prior, after their break up.

"What are you doing here? Everything's alright?"

"Yeah...I...just wanted to talk to you. I tried to catch you at work but your assistant is like a Cerberus." he chuckled dryly. Mia smiled; she would even say that Nora is closer to Hungarian Horntail. "She brushed me off for almost two weeks and then she said you took some time off." he looked her in the eye making Mia shiver under his gaze; there was something sad but also heated in his eyes. "Theo spilled beans and told me you would be here with girls."

She nodded motioning him awkwardly inside. She tried not to look at his hair, his teal eyes hidden behind wirerimmed glasses and how his lips twisted in that unbearably sexy way as he smiled looking at her. She really tried to ignore the tight knot in abdomen she felt after hearing his voice.

She thought she cried over their relationship and friendship long enough but seeing him after almost a year woke up some emotions she didn't want to dwell on for too long. They were too sweet and too bitter at the same time.

"What do you want to talk about?" she embraced herself. Suddenly she felt too naked in a simple dress with spaghetti straps and without a bra.

She expected a girl's night not a confrontation with her ex.

"Can...can we sit down and just talk?" he made a move like he wanted to touch her but suddenly changed his mind. "Just talk, Mia. I really missed talking with you."

She nodded and motioned him to follow her. They walked into the living room.

"Hi girls." Magnus called calmly.

"Ay, it's Theo!" Charlotte shouted drunkenly.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked sharply ignoring Lottie's babbling.

"If this is any consolation to you, Alex, I'm just as happy to see you." Magnus responded sourly.

"Well, I've asked you a question asshole..."

"Alex, stop." Mia interrupted her sharply. "I'll handle this. Relax, okay?"

Alex nodded hesitantly and Mia walked towards the terrace door into the garden. Magnus followed after.

"Theo, were are ya' going?" Charlotte called clearly disappointed.

"Lottie, it's not Theo." Rosa said kindly patting her friends cheek.

•••

They sat at the edge of the swimming pool with their legs in the water, their shoes discarded on the side, and Mia thought it's quite ironic. Ten years earlier in the exact same spot she talked to his twin brother about their relationship. Or rather why they couldn't have a one.

She wondered what Magnus wanted to talk about. On the one hand, it was most likely about their relationship, whatever it remained. On the other hand, she never suspected him of reaching out. He was too proud.

But did Magnus Sayre ever act towards her as she assumed, he would?

"Somethings never change." he said with a sour expression. "Alex still hates me like hell and Lottie still confuses me with Theo when drunk."

Mia smiled; it was comforting for her that somethings stayed the same.

"You look good." he said quietly. "Healthier."

"The rough patch ended for now." she shrugged. "I'm taking time off until September. Then I will close all my business in the MACUSA before moving to UK." she braced herself before she looked at him. "You look good too. I've heard about the promotion. Congrats."

He huffed with silent laughter.

"That's nothing. I'm the one that should congratulate you. You helped a lot of people with your act, Mia." he flashed her a genuine smile. "That's admirable."

"Thank you." she averted her gaze; looking at him hurt. She wanted him to leave as much as she wanted him to touch her.

"I screwed up Mia." he said suddenly making her look at him with a silent question in her eyes. He looked at the city below; the car lights, the lampposts, the feverish frenzy of colours and brightness. "I screwed up our relationship. I only understood how much recently." he looked at her. "I talked with my brother. About us. About you."

He called Theo differently but never _brother_.

"You two made up?"

Magnus laughed bitterly.

"And have we really ever argued? We just didn't talk that much." he looked at his hands. "Our father made sure that we wouldn't be good brothers to each other. But after he died we started talking." she heard him swallow through the bile in his throat. His voice was strained like he fought with himself. "And we talked through a lot of things. Really. I...we both changed." he looked at her again. "We all changed."

"We did." Mia confirmed softly.

"I guess...I wanted to talk with you...I never intended to start a relationship with you." he admitted carefully. "But once it happened...I really didn't want to let you go. I made a mistake...I didn't listen to you often enough. If it wasn't for Theo who...helped me understand that you didn't really talked to me because I wasn't listening to you from the very beginning. I was too convinced that I was infallible."

Mia snorted.

"He apparently still knows me well."

"Yes, he does." Magnus chuckled clearly embarrassed. "The funniest part in all of this is...that I'm not sure I will ever stop loving you."

"Magnus..."

"No, I know. It's too late right now. But I know I haven't told you that often enough." he took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose lifting his glasses slightly. "I talked to Theo and he told me...he told me why you're leaving for UK. He told me about the nightmares...and about her...about the Potter boy..."

Mia suddenly felt a cold shiver crept up her spine, despite the warm evening air.

"What did he tell you?"

"Enough to make me worry about you."

"He shouldn't have...how could he..." she started to panic. He betrayed her trust. He talked about her deepest and most protected secret. He was the only person who knew almost everything...

And he just spilled it to his brother.

She knew Magnus wouldn't use this against her. He was a good man and no matter how often and fiercely they fought; he had his heart on the right side.

But it wasn't right...this isn't good.

She felt a warm hand on her arm and snapped her head up only to meet worried pair of teal eyes framed with long, dark lashes.

"Mia...I'm worried. I'm worried about you." he squeezed her shoulder and held it seeing her scared eyes.

"No need to be worried." she said quickly, averting her gaze. "It's my burden, and it always were. Theo knew that."

"He told me you always said that. But that's the problem. You have a whole life here. Family, friends, carrier, home. But you just put it on hold for this thing. You have subordinated your whole life to lead to this one point. You subordinated it to dreams and memories that may not even exist, Mia."

Fear in her eyes suddenly changed into something dangerous. Her curly hair looked fluffed like it was electrified by an invisible current.

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"That I don't understand how you can leave people you know for..." He paused, pursing his lips as if to control his emotions. His hand fell from arm to her hand on the edge of the pool. He didn't thread their fingers together, just held his palm on top of hers.

"For what?" she asked quietly.

"For a misimagination." he looked her in the eye with something challenging in face. "I believe you've experienced some kind of trauma when you were a child...probably before your parents adopted you. Your mind just filled out the blanks. It's still haunting you as this...obsession."

Mia got up quickly, yanking her hand from under his and headed for the house. Inside, through the terrace window, she saw Alex, Cloe, Rosa and Irene scattering in different directions like scared cockroaches as if they were counting that she wouldn't notice that they were eavesdropping.

"Mia, for fucks sake!" Magnus caught up with her and grabbed her wrist.

She turned and looked at him in a way, which in the past already forced braver and more desperate wizards to step back. But Magnus just clenched his teeth and shook his head as if he wanted to let her know that he would not let go so easily.

"Wait. Just talk with me."

"You come here. To my fucking house! Just to call me delusional!" she spat with poison in her voice taking a few steps towards him. He stood his ground looking at her.

"I didn't call you delusional! Don't put words into my mouth!" he leaned, towering over her. "I'm not the only one worried you know? But apparently I'm the only one who's brave enough to call out Miss Perfects' bullshit plan!"

She hissed at him and tried to yank her hand free without success.

"You're not a messiah, Mia! Even if there's a speck of truth in all this, that's not your responsibility!"

"It is! I'm the one who can stop this! I know what will happen! I can save them...my...family!"

"WE'RE YOUR FAMILY MIA!" he shouted. That made Mia yank her wand from a wand holster on her thigh and point it at his chest. Magnus immediately let go of her hand and lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Mia..." he broke off when she started walking towards him with fury on her face.

"Don't..."

Step.

"...you..."

Step.

"...fucking..."

Step.

"...dare to..."

Step.

"...JUDGE ME!"

With a loud splash Magnus landed in the swimming pool.

After a second he surfaced spitting water; his fair hair stuck to his face and glasses. Mia stood on the edge with her wand hanging loosely at her side and a cold, indifferent expression in her eyes.

She watched Magnus lift himself on the edge of the pool. Water dripped from his hair and shoulders, making his shirt tight against his skin, enhancing every dip and curve of his chest and abs.

She looked away.

"Tell your brother not to show himself to me if he knows what's good for him." she said blankly.

Magnus took off his glasses and took out his wand tapping them wordlessly to dry them off. He put them on and walked toward the exit without a glance. Mia was still standing there, her eyes fixed on the city lights.

When she thought that he would pass her without a word, she felt a strong arm sneaking around her waist, felt wet fabric and too long hair tickling and leaving water droplets on her face when Magnus kissed her. Her hands twisted into his soaked shirt bringing him closer.

She couldn't remember if anyone ever kissed her in such toe-curling, mind-wiping way. Magnus seemed to put all his passion, love, regret and anger- all those things he mostly repressed inside him- into this one kiss. Mia felt like she was being burned alive. From his bruising grip on her skin and the soft, sensual way his lips moved against hers. She let out a small whimper.

And as soon as it began it ended.

She suddenly felt very cold without his body close. They both panted, looking at each other with big eyes.

"Goodbye Mia." finally Magnus choked out as if he didn't trust his own voice and walked away.

He disappeared inside the house and after a few seconds Mia heard the front door close after him with a loud click.

•••

**11 October 1994, Washington D.C.**

"Aaand he left." Cloe said in a sad tone. During her story she dug out a lonely cigarette from the bottom of her handbag. She stood beside the opened window and blew out the smoke outside into the warm autumn twilight falling outside.

She somehow dropped the sweet act she firstly put on. Even the darkening interior of the living room we sat in looked less perfect than it did in the day light.

Cloe Rogers seemed to have her own stories to tell. But right now, she clearly thought about her long friend and how so many things crumbled around her.

"It never seemed strange to you?" she suddenly asked turning towards me with a piercing gaze like my response was important to her. Like she still needed to judge if I'm worthy her while, Mia's while. If I'm really someone who could be so important among many others to her friend. "How strange it is that it's so easy to love a person with mission? To love someone who's priorities won't ever be entirely linked to you? How stupid is that?"

"I don't think it's stupid." I said quietly. "I've been there so I know how it feels."

She nodded pursing her lips before taking another deep drag of her cigarette.

"You know the rest of the story now really. Mia closed up all her affairs in the MACUSA and came to work for your Ministry." Cloe shrugged smiling mischievously. "I've heard already about the commotion she caused there. But I don't know what her plan is really."

"You trust her?"

"With my life and life of my family..." she smiled bitterly. "She's my sister you know? Never been closer to anyone in my life besides my husband and the girls from our pack. Couldn't even say that about my mother. Daddy left for a pack of cigs when I was three so I don't even remember him so well..." she laughed hoarsely. "The thing is Mia is the best person I know. But she never speaks or thinks about herself in the first place. So I'm afraid she will one day crumble underneath all of this bullshit that has been thrown at her." she flicked the cigarette bud through the window. "Is that all you wanted to know?"

I hesitated. I wasn't of course _all_ I wanted to know. But I figured it was all I was going to get.

"I think I've got all I wanted."

"Good." she nodded and smiled warmly. "I'll pack you some cake for the road."

•••

I stood in the hall of Rogers home. Cloe gave me a cake in the box and hugged me again this time warmly like I was an old friend.

"Take care, cuddle-bear." she said quietly. "And hug Mia from me, will you?"

I nodded. She let go and stepped back reaching into her fanny's pocket and handing me a black business card.

"And if you ever need something just use this."

I looked at the front. There in an elegant, golden font read:

**_MISS ROGERS_**

**_MAGICAL MISTRESS_**

**_DISCRETION GUARANTEED_**

Below was a drawing of pink lips. I made big eyes and looked at Cloe who looked like she was having a great time.

"Oh, you blush like a schoolgirl!" she opened the door and pushed me delicately in the chest to make me back up outside. "It was such a pleasure to meet you Remus. I hope that one day you will visit me in less formal circumstances. You know...all work, no play..." she laughed again at my face, waved and closed the door.

•••

**13 October 1994, Sticks and Stones, London, England**

They sat for a longer while in silence after Remus finished his story. Each of them somehow processed the whole story. It was well after one in the morning.

Finally Fabian's voice broke the quiet of Remus's living room:

"You've got that business card, mate?"

"Wow, Fabian. Like fucking wow." Sirius looked at him with something akin to disgust.

"Yeah, I've got the business card. And I'm giving it to Sirius at this point." Remus moved a thick folder across the table toward Sirius. "Here's everything I've gathered in the Great Archives."

"Thanks." Sirius took the folder and looked at his friend and his sickly, pale face. "Really. I owe you for this Moony."

"Oh, you bet." Remus laughed weakly. "It was an interesting experience but hell, I hate going overseas."

"Okay, but what we've really got from all of this?" Fabian grumbled. "Because what I gather she can be a Yankee spy."

Sirius snorted.

"Merlin, Fabian, are you sure you didn't drink from Mad-Eye's mug? You didn't catch something in his office?"

"She's an ex Thunderbird, Black. That's no joke really. Your girlfriend would kick our asses with her hands tied behind."

Sirius had no doubt that she would do it without training, but he didn't say it aloud and only shrugged.

"She's not my girlfriend. And I don't see why MACUSA would decide on snooping on us. It's not really that hard to find out about most, even classified work at the Ministry. Maybe only the Department of Mysteries is somehow fine when it comes to this. But the rest?" he huffed. "Why bother sending here one of your more prominent young politicians only to try spy things you can just pay to find out about?"

Fabian eyed him suspiciously.

"I guess I don't want to ask how you know so much about obtaining classified information?"

"I guess you don't." Sirius shrugged and seeing Remus doze off leaning on the palm of his hand he downed his tea. "We'll be going Moony. You need to rest."

"Wait." Fabian stood up. "What are we doing right now with all of this?" he motioned towards the folder currently lying under Sirius's palm.

"I am taking this with me. What will you do? I have no idea."

"What? But that's intel!"

"Well, yes my dear Fabian. That's intel I've that I commissioned as a private person for my private money."

"As if you would pay Remus for this!" Fabian snarked and Remus only shrugged.

"I'll have my profit from it."

"I gave a recommendation for Remus on this trip! The Ministry have the right to it!"

Sirius and Remus looked at each other before Remus spoke.

"Mate, I didn't use it. Didn't have to. Mia made everything open. I can return that paper to you."

Fabian opened and closed his mouth a couple of times like a fish taken out of the water. Finally he scowled and said to Sirius:

"I can still confiscate this."

"Of course, you can. The same way I can go complain to Fudge about this unlawful decision."

The Auror sighed heavily and rubbed his face tiredly.

"Asshole."

"Send your own people to gather intel. You're here only because Remus thought it's important for you to be here."

Remus shrugged tiredly.

"We're playing for the same goal, gentlemen. I thought it would be good as Fabian will decide for himself whether to trust this woman."

Redhead clearly felt abashed when Sirius and Remus looked at him questioningly.

"I...I don't know! I have a lot of questions right now. And I won't answer until I get this clear." with stern expression he pointed his finger at Sirius. "And I also advise you to think with your head, not your dick, Black."

"I think you're confusing me with someone else." Sirius said lazily, putting the folder in his messenger bag. "You really think I have time for romance, Fabian? Or that I would put in risk everything I'm working for, for a lay? I've really sacrificed more than that already. I thought you knew me better."

The Auror had the decency to look ashamed after that but despite it he added:

"Bo offence Black but I've seen wiser man get tricked like that. And it never ended pretty."

•••

He was in the church in Godric's Hollow several times in his life.

First time at the wedding of Lily and James.

Then at Harry's baptism.

Then at the funeral of his best friends.

He remembered the interior of this church quite well.

Sirius nervously adjusted his dress robes and left the vestibule entering the main chamber of the church. His footsteps echoed between the empty benches while he walked.

His eyes were fixed on a small figure standing at the altar in a white dress. Hearing his footsteps, the figure twitched and turned toward him.

Mia smiled at the sight of him, making him feel butterflies in his stomach. She looked unearthly with her hair cascading down her shoulders and the white of her dress highlighting her skin.

On her head was a simple gold tiara in which he recognized the tiara of his great-grandmother; one of the Black family memorabilia that has been laying in the treasury for decades because it was worn by a "blood traitor".

On her neck was a golden necklace with a round amber-coloured stone which reflected the dim light of the candles at the altar. It looked ancient and well-crafted. He didn't recognize that one.

Sirius stood in front of her smiling tenderly, feeling the emotions make his heart speed up. He had a feeling like love and pride were about to burst his chest.

"Hi puppy." she said quietly with a sly smile crooking her lips.

"Hi kitten." he responded huskily; the pet-name rolled off his lips like it was his second nature.

He was so captivated by the way the light danced in her eyes like in the gem in her necklace that when he saw a hand encircling her waist, he almost screamed startled.

He automatically took a step forward but stopped when his eyes met a pair of teal ones.

On both each of Mia's sides, hugging her, stood two fair-haired men.

One in a leather jacket stood on her right looking him straight in the eye while caressing her cheek and gathering back the hair from her neck. He leaned in and started kissing and nipping at her neck; Sirius saw his lips stretch in a mocking grimace.

The other one had glasses and simple navy robes. He didn't look at Sirius; instead his whole attention was on Mia. He touched her face gently with one hand while the other grabbed hers. He smiled tenderly at her completely ignoring the fact that she still looked at Sirius like nothing changed. Like they were still alone in the church.

Sirius felt he should be furious at them for touching her. He was possessive in nature and it was the most natural thing in the world for him. But the need to grab her and mark as his didn't came as fear gripped tightly at his heart.

"Mia..." he breathed out taking another step towards her. She looked at him questioningly still smiling.

"What's wrong Sirius?"

He extended his hand and with a pleased smile she did the same. But just as their palms were about to meet, she gasped, and her eyes went wide.

Her face paled and Sirius screamed in horror as a dark-red stain appeared on the front of her white dress, and the bloody gore spilled from her parted lips.

A quiet chuckle pulled him from stupor. He looked up and met a pair of cold brown eyes.

Behind Mia stood a tall, young man with long brown hair, pale skin and square jaw. His pale hand with long spidery fingers gripped Mia's shoulder while the other held up a bloodied knife. His mouth stretched in an ugly way revealing white teeth with extremely sharp fangs.

"Is this enough?" he asked in hissing tone...

•••

...and then Sirius jolted awake with a scream.

He sat upright in his bed, alone, the sheets slipping from his chest and pooling around his waist. He immediately regretted doing that, bending over in pain.

His chest hurt like he was the one stabbed. His skin was covered in a thin layer of cold sweat and his head pounded with pain.

He lay down on his side and a strangled sob escaped his throat.

It's been a while since he had such a dream.

Last time before Pandora...

He jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom next to his bedroom. He practically hung on the edge of the bathtub, vomiting into it loudly time after time until his stomach was completely empty. His head ached so much that he though he went blind.

Finally- he wasn't sure if it was an hour or just five agonizing minutes- he collapsed back onto his bed. With shaking hand, he covered his mouth feeling hot tears running from the corners of his eyes.

Sirius focused on his emotions in the dream; it was so real he felt like could collapse just from the mere thought that something could happen to her...

"Kitten..." he whispered through his hand felling the same familiarity he felt there.

His chest still ached like his mind didn't register that it was all a horrible vision. That Mia was safe and sound, probably sleeping in her hotel suite.

That they were just acquaintances, not lovers, not even friends.

He sincerely hoped it was just a nightmare.


	10. Chapter 8- She evil

"_She's just a girl used to taking the stairs,_  
_when she stands in line then nobody cares._  
_In her too high heels and her too short skirts,_  
_keeps her from blocking the jeers and clocking the flirts_  
_She's on her own down to shout it, they just can't stop from talking 'bout it_

_Introducing our newest line of modern woman doll!_  
_She speaks all by herself when you take her out of the box!_

_(…)_

_They want her number but she's caught in the_  
_crossfire, she signs a "Thanks for nothing Julie Newmar!"_  
_The lady does just what she wanna,_  
_causing efforts making way like shes a prima donna_  
_Never not the main attraction, the girl can't get no satisfaction!_

_(…)_

_They say that girl she evil, that's how they know she evil_  
_They say that girl she evil, They say that girl she evil_  
_That's how they know she evil_  
_She evil_!"

Jinkx Monsoon – She Evil

* * *

They sat for a longer while in silence after Remus finished. Each of them somehow processed the whole story.

It was well after one in the morning.

Finally Fabian's voice broke the quiet of Remus's living room:

"You've got that business card, mate?"

"Wow, Fabian. Like fucking wow." Sirius looked at him with something akin to disgust.

"Yeah, I've got the business card. And I'm giving it to Sirius at this point." Remus moved a thick folder across the table toward Sirius. "Here's everything I've gathered in the Great Archives."

"Thanks." Sirius took the folder and looked at his friend and his sickly, pale face. "Really. I owe you for this Moony."

"Oh, you bet." Remus laughed weakly. "It was an interesting experience but hell, I hate going overseas."

"Okay, but what we've really got from all of this?" Fabian grumbled. "Because what I gather, she can be a Yankee spy."

Sirius snorted.

"Merlin, Fabian, are you sure you didn't drink from Mad-Eye's mug? You didn't catch something in his office?"

"She's an ex-Thunderbird, Black. That's no joke really. Your girlfriend would kick our asses with her hands tied behind."

Sirius had no doubt that she would do it without training, but he didn't say it aloud and only shrugged. He decided to ignore that stupid jab.

"I don't see why MACUSA would decide on snooping on us. It's not really that hard to find out about most, even classified work at the Ministry. Maybe only the Department of Mysteries is somehow fine when it comes to this. But the rest?" he huffed. "Why bother sending here one of your more prominent young politicians only to try spy things you can just pay to find out about?"

Fabian eyed him suspiciously.

"I guess I don't want to ask how you know so much about obtaining classified information?"

"I guess you don't." Sirius shrugged and seeing Remus doze off leaning on the palm of his hand he downed his tea. "We'll be going Moony. You need to rest."

"Wait." Fabian stood up. "What are we doing right now with all of this?" he motioned towards the folder currently lying under Sirius's palm.

"I am taking this with me. What will you do? I have no idea. Frankly my dear i don't give a damn."

"What? But that's intel!"

"Well, yes. That's intel I've that I commissioned as a private person for my private money."

"As if you would pay Remus for this!" Fabian snarled and Remus only shrugged.

"I'll have my profit from it."

"I gave a written recommendation for Lupin on this trip! The Ministry have the right to it!"

Sirius and Remus looked at each other before Remus spoke.

"Mate, I didn't use it. Didn't have to. Mia made everything open. I can return that paper to you."

Fabian opened and closed his mouth a couple of times like a fish taken out of the water. Finally he scowled and said to Sirius:

"I can still confiscate this."

"Of course, you can. The same way I can go complain to Fudge about this unlawful decision."

The Auror sighed heavily and rubbed his face tiredly.

"Asshole."

"Send your own people to gather intel. You're here only because Remus thought it's important for you to be here."

Remus shrugged tiredly.

"We're playing for the same goal, gentlemen. I thought it would be good as Fabian will decide for himself whether to trust this woman."

Redhead clearly felt abashed when Sirius and Remus looked at him questioningly.

"I...I don't know! I have a lot of questions right now. And I won't answer until I get them all clear." with stern expression he pointed his finger at Sirius. "And I also advise you to think with your big head, not the small one, Black."

"I think you're confusing me with someone else." Sirius said lazily, putting the folder in his messenger bag. "You really think I have time for romance, Fabian? Or that I would put in risk everything I'm working for, for a lay? I've really sacrificed more than that already. I thought you knew me better."

He had the decency to look ashamed after that but despite it added:

"No offence Black but I've seen wiser man get tricked like that. And it never ended pretty."

•••

He was in the church in Godric's Hollow several times in his life.

First time at the wedding of Lily and James.

Then at Harry's baptism.

Then at the funeral of his best friends.

He remembered the interior of this church quite well.

Sirius nervously adjusted his dress robes and left the vestibule entering the main chamber of the church. His footsteps echoed between the empty benches while he walked.

His eyes were fixed on a small figure standing at the altar in a white dress. Hearing his footsteps, the figure twitched and turned toward him.

Mia smiled at the sight of him, making him feel butterflies in his stomach. She looked unearthly with her hair cascading down her shoulders and the white of her dress highlighting her skin.

On her head was a simple gold tiara in which he recognized the tiara of his great-grandmother; one of the Black family memorabilia that has been laying in the treasury for decades because it was worn by a "blood traitor".

A gold necklace glistened on her chest. It had a round amber-coloured stone which reflected the dim light of the candles at the altar. It looked ancient and well-crafted.

He didn't recognize that one.

Sirius stood in front of her smiling tenderly, feeling the emotions make his heart speed up. He had a feeling like love and pride were about to burst his chest open.

"Hi puppy." she said quietly with a sly smile crooking her lips.

"Hi kitten." he responded huskily; the pet-name rolled off his lips like it was his second nature.

He was so captivated by the way the light danced in her eyes like in the gem in her necklace that when he saw a hand encircling her waist, he almost screamed startled.

He automatically took a step forward but stopped when his eyes met a pair of teal ones.

On both each of Mia's sides, hugging her, stood two fair-haired men.

One in a leather jacket stood on her right looking him straight in the eye while caressing her cheek and gathering back the hair from her shoulder. He leaned in and started kissing and nipping at her neck. Sirius saw his lips stretch in a mocking grimace. It wasn't erotic in any means. It looked almost predatory as if he wanted to devour and appropriate her.

Just to destroy her.

The other one had glasses and simple navy robes. He didn't look at Sirius; instead his whole attention was on Mia. He touched her face gently with one hand while the other grabbed hers. He smiled tenderly at her completely ignoring the fact that she still looked at Sirius like nothing changed. Like they were still alone in the church.

Sirius felt he should be furious at them for touching her. He was possessive in nature and it was the most natural thing in the world for him. But the need to grab her and mark as his didn't came as fear gripped tightly at his heart.

"Mia..." he breathed out taking another step towards her. She looked at him questioningly still smiling.

"What's wrong Sirius?"

He extended his hand and with a pleased smile she did the same. But just as their palms were about to meet, she gasped, and her eyes went wide.

Her face paled and Sirius screamed in horror as a dark-red stain appeared on the front of her white dress, and the bloody gore spilled from her parted lips.

A quiet chuckle pulled him from stupor. He looked up and met a pair of cold brown eyes.

Behind Mia stood a tall, young man with long brown hair, pale skin and square jaw. His pale hand with long spidery fingers gripped Mia's shoulder while the other held up a bloodied knife. His mouth stretched in an ugly way revealing white teeth with extremely sharp fangs.

"Is this enough?" he asked in sweet tone...

•••

...and then Sirius jolted awake with a scream.

He sat upright in his bed, alone, the sheets slipping from his chest and pooling around his waist. He immediately regretted doing that, bending over in pain.

His chest hurt like he was the one stabbed. His skin was covered in a thin layer of cold sweat and his head pounded with pain.

He lay down on his side and a strangled sob escaped his throat.

It's been a while since he had such a dream.

Last time before Pandora...

He jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom next to his bedroom. He practically hung on the edge of the bathtub, vomiting into it loudly time after time until his stomach was completely empty. His head ached so much that he though he went blind.

Finally- he wasn't sure if it was an hour or just five agonising minutes- he collapsed back onto his bed. With shaking hand, he covered his mouth feeling hot tears running from the corners of his eyes.

Sirius focused on his emotions in the dream; it was so real he felt like could collapse just from the mere thought that something could happen to her...

"Kitten..." he whispered through his hand felling the same familiarity he felt there.

His chest still ached like his mind didn't register that it was all a horrible vision. That Mia was safe and sound, probably sleeping in her hotel suite.

That they were just acquaintances. Not lovers. Not even friends.

He sincerely hoped it was just a nightmare.

•••

The next few days passed in the whirlwind of work.

Meetings, papers, headache.

Meetings, papers, headache.

Meetings.

Papers.

Headache.

He didn't avoid Mia.

Nothing at all.

Absolutely.

Not.

...

Okay.

Maybe he did avoid her a little.

The truth was he didn't know why. After hearing out Remus's story and after that dream he just felt...strange to say at least. He felt like that dream's supposed to be some kind of clue or warning. But he couldn't read it for the life of him.

The thing that freaked him out the most was that he didn't look at the photos from the file he got from Remus. He didn't open the it at all before going to sleep. Yet his mind managed to produce a perfect image of the Sayre brothers and Blake King.

It scared him shitless.

So, despite the gravitation he felt for Mia and her company, he avoided her for almost a week and a half.

But in that moment sitting in the office of his London home after saying his goodbye's to that old hag Lady Greengrass ("_Of course Margerie, I know you have great granddaughters but I won't arrange a marriage for my son_) he looked at the next surname on his list of meetings for that day and he knew that Mia had obviously had enough fun playing cat and mouse.

He was sitting behind the desk, leaning back in his chair. He covered his eyes with his hand; migraine caused him to have photophobia.

"You look terrible." he heard a voice from the door and glanced at Mia. She stood there in a loose sunflower-coloured dress and black leather jacket with matching motorcycle boots.

Kiki reached the door at that moment, clearly annoyed and breathless. She bowed her ears sweeping the floor and announced:

"Lady Potter, Sir."

"Thank you, Kiki. Close the door, would you?"

Kiki bowed again and backed out of the room, casting a few suspicious glances at Mia.

When the elf closed the door behind her Mia looked at Sirius and smiled.

"She's a treasure. She didn't want to let me in 'because Lord Black just talked to one Lady, give him a break!'" she sat in the armchair in front of the desk. Sirius chuckled and immediately winced when pain shot through his skull. "Migraine?" he heard concern in her voice.

"Yhm..." Sirius hummed quietly. He waved his wand without looking and the curtains in the room drew themselves cutting off the afternoon light coming through the windows. He waved again making few candles in the room light up. "I'm sorry. I know you won't mind."

"I won't."

He finally looked at her fully in the dim light. She had her hair in a braid. Her big eyes gleamed like liquid gold. She had big golden hoops in her ears but no necklace.

He silently sighed with relief.

"You're avoiding me." she stated sardonically.

"Am not. I'm busy. Talking with people about business." Sirius shrugged. "I had to put the gears in work for the Charity Ball. There's so much to do..." he ended with a dramatic groan.

Mia shook her head laughing.

"Come on, you've been dodging Percy for couple of days already."

"I'm dodging the kid because usually he forwards me invitations for a dinner with his family. If I don't receive one, I don't have to go and listen to his mother telling me how I will be lonely and bitter before my son turns twelve if I won't find a wife. Harry's fourteen now, so imagine how long I haven't been at Weasley's for dinner."

"Well, my owl also seemed to miss you. I had to make an official appointment. Guessed you wouldn't escape from your own office."

"Let's say that I got a knack what's going on when I saw Lady Potty-train listed on between my suppliants for today."

"Ow, a suppliant?" she laughed in that happy, slightly mocking way that made his heart flutter and his mind wander to the things he could do to change that laugh into a sweet moan.

He mentally kicked himself.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ Chanted his Remus-sounding inner voice.

"Yeah, okay. Let's call it that way." she leaned back crossing her legs and looking at him with a cocky smirk. "I wanted to talk with you about few things. Firstly, you mentioned the Werewolf Law you advocate for."

Sirius nodded straitening himself in the chair.

"Yes...the Lupin Act."

He could have sworn that her eyes widen in surprise for a second.

"Remus...he...?"

"Outed himself? Yes. Had no choice thanks to Daily Prophet and Skeeter. We...were close. After I returned from Aussie with Harry and took the title there was a lot of commotion around us." it pained him to this day but Remus stubbornly repeated that it wasn't his fault. Despite this Sirius did everything he could to pin down Rita. When he found out she was an unregistered Animagus he made sure she would behave when it came to news coverage about his family.

He mostly felt sad about all that but when he looked at Mia she looked livid.

"That's horrible! How could she! That...that disgusting cow!" she sputtered. Electricity crackled in her hair. Sirius couldn't help but chuckle.

"There, there...No need to get feisty. I've managed to keep her in check for last couple of years." he teased at which she growled at him with blushing cheeks.

"I'm not getting '_feisty_'. I'm not a ten-year-old so don't talk to me like I'm one. It's just...so unfair! For Remus! And for you! It's none of people's business what you two do with each other or what Remus does at the full moon!"

Sirius leaned in letting his hair fall partly over his shoulder and face and said in a lower voice:

"Still I think it's adorable, Mia."

It worked and her face became even redder and she averted her gaze.

"I'm ready to adorably kick your ass, Lord Black if the situation calls."

He shrugged and beamed her a smile.

"It's that more exciting, love." he laughed and added. "I think seeing you flustered is my favourite state to see you at so far. I can't wait to see more!"

"How can you be so sure you'll see more?"

"Call it intuition." he looked at her and stopped smiling suddenly remembering his nightmare again. Blood on a white dress, her lips parted and covered in gore, her eyes wide in shock and fear...He cleared his throat feeling a wave of nausea hit him again along with the migraine. "You...you wanted to ask about the Werewolf Law?"

Mia looked at him with concern; of course, she saw the shift in his behaviour.

"Yes...I wanted to take part in the committee meeting. Percy told me there is one that you're leading. Of course, if you still want me to advise..."

"Of course! We need people with experience and charisma." Sirius said quickly. "Given that, for example, sweet, sweet colleague Dolores Umbrige, who is responsible for counter-act, comes regularly, I'd say we could use help." he mustered up a smile and clearly failed in making it convincing because she crooked an eyebrow and asked:

"What's wrong Sirius?"

"Nothing." his respond was too quick and to heated. Mia frowned but dropped the topic.

"Okay, if you still want me there, I will ask Percy to write it down in my schedule. I..." she hesitated but after a while she continued apparently deciding that she doesn't care about his strange mood swing. "I wanted to ask if you'll be at Hogwarts at the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament."

"Well. Given that I'm School Board's chairman I'm afraid that that particular enjoyment will land on me. Why?"

She hesitated again and Sirius hated himself for making her doubt asking him anything.

"Crouch asked me to be there as a MACUSA representative since Ilvermorny will be taking part. And I wanted to ask if you could show me Hogwarts? You told such beautiful things about this school that I would like to see it for the first time through your eyes." she ended with smile that seemed both embarrassed and hopeful. It seemed to him that her cheeks darkened even more.

Sirius swore his brain just shut down for a second. He tried to comprehend what she just said and why exactly it made him feel giddy and just stupidly happy.

He was thirty-four. Thirty-four years old for crying out loud.

But when the second passed and he managed to wrap him mind around the fact that she wanted him to show her his most beloved place on Earth, his first home the way he remembered it...

"Of course, if you'll be busy, I understand. It was just an idea..." she continued but he cut her off quickly:

"No, no! It'll be a pleasure!"

She beamed at that it and made him even more pleased with that decision.

"Soo...it's a date! I can't wait!"

Sirius leaned on his palm smiling.

_There goes all the common sense...you have a death-wish Padfoot..._ his inner Remus voice said in an amused tone.

Sirius didn't give a fuck.

"Also, since you mentioned it...I wanted to talk about the Charity Ball. I thought that as the current Lady Potter I should get involved." she continued in a more solemn manner.

He nodded; it made sense.

"You have something specific in mind?"

"Well...formally I'm Harry's cousin. And your cousin. I'm currently the heiress of the second, when it comes to wealth, family in UK. Given how often Caleb Nott wrote to me in the past few days I have the strange impression not everybody understands where my loyalty lies."

"Caleb Nott wrote to you? He looked for you outside the ministry?" he straightened up alarmed.

She nodded.

"So far no. But he's pushy. He came looking for me at my office. I told Percy that regardless if I'm inside or not he has to say that I'm out. I guess...You avoided me, and I avoided Nott for couple of days." Mia chuckled but her face fell a little when she saw Sirius's expression.

He couldn't resist the dark, slightly hysteric chuckle escaping him. He leaned back in his chair and folded his fingers at lips. His face looked rather grim. He sat like that looking at her for a couple of seconds. He really tried to contain the slight twitch he felt in the corner of his left eye.

When he finally spoke, he noted with satisfaction that his voice, even if slightly lower than usual, sounded composed.

"Nott knows exactly where your loyalty lies, love. And he doesn't give a single fuck about it. He's not only a Death Eater, Mia. He's a sick man."

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully.

"Nott had a wife. Colette. Sweet, innocent bird, really." He felt anger welling up in him, so he thinned his lips and closed his eyes trying not to look at Mia. "He allegedly met her in Paris when he was there in business. They've married in 1973 or 1974. I don't remember, I wasn't invited because I crashed my cousins Bellatrix wedding few months prior. So, Nott, then thirty-three and this girl, barely sixteen at the time...they married...and they had a son. The little shite-eater is Harry's age right now...So before I took in Harry, I didn't give a shit for Nott or his family. I blasted his leg when he tried to flee from the raid, we made for the last Death Eaters, so he was caught thanks to me. But when I came back and started sorting through my mother's documents...I found her journals. She wrote them her whole life. The magic she used to secure them revealed them to me as the righteous Black heir..." he broke off and opened his eyes. Mia listened to him intently. "I found a lot of dirty secrets in these diaries. Things going back half a century and more. Regarding my family." _For example, that I'm a half-breed bastard._ "But not only. One of the things my mother mentioned in there was about Nott and his wife. And when I read that I finally saw it...it was so subtle and so terrifyingly wrong..."

"What? What did you saw?" Mia leaned towards him. She looked uneasy.

"He had her under Imperius the whole time." he said quietly. "At some point she had to start overcoming the spell. After so many years of enslavement, her mind slowly got used to its effects. Apparently, she began to behave strangely at parties. I even heard a rumour that she was trying to drown her five-year-old son in the bathtub." Mia gasped quietly. "I'm not surprised because the brat is probably a result of rape and her imprisonment. Enough said when I found out all of this and went to hand over the information to Moody, it wasn't two days when the news about her death came." he huffed a humourless laugh. "She apparently had an 'accident'. She was making herself a contraceptive potion and one of the ingredients turned out to be mislabelled. The vapours that arose made her unconscious and she burst her head forward into the mixture. She drowned in a cauldron. They found her after about two hours. Her face and shoulders boiled up. No evidence of foul play. They officially blamed their house elf for all of it. For the bad labels and not checking if her lady is all right. She explained that Colette asked her to keep away until she calls her. But regardless...they threw her out."

There was a longer silence in which they looked at each other.

"Don't. Ever. Meet. With Caleb Nott. Alone." Sirius finally drawled.

Mia nodded; she looked like she was going to throw up.

"I don't want to go to Azkaban for murdering this piece of shit. I want to destroy him as legally as I can. Preferably exposing him with all the dirty stuff he did. You said the other day that you feel that everyone knows each other here. That you feel watched and alienated at the same time. It's because it's true. You are watched. You are judged. And they will prey upon you. It's hard to keep secrets in here. You have no idea how hard I had to work to keep mine." Sirius added quietly. "There were more things about Nott's as a family in my mother's journals. And Cissy told me what she has seen and heard while being married to Lucius Malfoy. I don't like Nott being around you. I don't like Nott talking with you. He is sick. And he is blindly loyal to Voldemort's cause. And you..." he jumped to his feet and wandered around his desk waving his wand revealing windows and putting out candles. He looked outside through the window; somehow the numb pain the light caused helped him cool off. "You are the perfect opportunity, love. You have connections here and in the States. You have the title, the blood status and the power a man like Nott would like to use. You're frightfully smart and sodding gorgeous. And you are temperamental..." he looked at her with blank eyes. "And they say he likes to break his girls."

"Circe..." Mia groaned weakly hiding her face in hands. Sirius looked at her and after a moment of hesitation he crouched in front of her placing his hand gently on her arm.

She didn't flinch feeling his palm, quite the opposite; she leaned into his touch and looked at him with wide eyes from between her fingers.

"You know what?" she asked a little hoarsely. "I've left the Thunderbirds counting on that I won't see this kind of stuff again. It was naïve on my part. But I was so focused on moving here, on Death Eaters, on blood purists, mad dark wizards, on trying to figure out which of my information is still valid that I really didn't thought about things that I couldn't know. Like this. This makes me sick. And yet...I've done some violent things in my life."

Sirius nodded. He still didn't fully understand what she meant by that.

_One step at the time._

"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters."

"It would be so simple and nice, wouldn't it?" her eyes absentmindedly drifted to the family ring on his hand. She ran her thumb over the round onyx. "What happened with Nott's house-elf?"

He watched her small hands toy with the ring, only not to look at her teeth tugging at her bottom lip; it was something he saw her doing on several occasions, clearly something she did unconsciously when she was stressed, or she thought about something intensely. Every time she did that, he wanted to replace her teeth with his.

Looking at her skin from this close he could see the faint shimmer of the glamour covering the burn scars.

He wondered how she looked without it.

_Don't be creepy Pads._

"She found a new family. A master and his son. They appreciated her and she soon became a part of their family. She loves to spoil the boy and nag the father that he's too skinny and that he sleeps too little." he huffed a laugh and lifted his eyes to look at her.

Mia's eyes had something warm in them. She looked at him almost tenderly.

"What?" he asked amused.

"Nothing...you have time to go grab lunch?"

Sirius threw a glance at the wall-clock and nodded.

"Sure. It's actually a good idea." he stood up and held out his hand to help her up. "I really need a breather between the meetings. Mia..." he added with a solemn expression when she stood up; he didn't let go of her hand and she didn't take it away. They stood so close that she had to tilt her head to look him in the eye. "I know you can take care of yourself. I just want you to be alert. They don't know what kind of threat you are and it's an huge advantage. But remember that the politics here are mostly orchestrated from behind the main stage by dangerous, ruthless men. They don't take well when someone tries to sabotage their rotten structure. They don't take defiance well at all."

"Are you one of those men?" Mia asked crooking her head.

He couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Yeah, I have to! But I don't mind sharing power and I don't mind destroying the status quo. I've been trying to do this for almost a decade now. And the most important thing is that I'm on your side. You're not alone here."

Suddenly they both turned their heads hearing Kiki's shrill voice behind the door.

"Master has a guest! You can't go there! MASTER SIRIUS HAS A GUEST!"

A male voice with a thick accent responded to her dismissively:

"Get out of my way elf. He doesn't have more important guests than me."

The door burst open when Igor Karkaroff entered theatrically almost immediately deflating seeing Mia and Sirius standing in the middle of the room holding hands. He was wearing a long white robe with gold and silver ornaments. Shoes with sharp toes protruded from under the hem of the robe.

He didn't say a word before Sirius barked sharply:

"Karkaroff! What you think you're doing?"

The other wizard's face stretched in a sly smile; his pointy, thinning goatee made his features look like one's of a caricature.

"Well, well... At least for once the Prophet foretold something real." he bared his yellow teeth in an insincere smile. "You finally started dating women, Black."

Sirius growled under his breath.

"And sorry, where are my manners?" Karkaroff strolled towards Mia and took the one hand Sirius wasn't holding and bowed above it to kiss the air above her knuckles. She looked at him with indifference. "I'm Igor Karkaroff. A man for dealing with impossible things. Merchant of magic artefacts. And you my beautiful tsvetok must be Lady Potter."

Mia looked Karkaroff up with a cold gaze and without answering him she turned to Sirius and asked:

"I guess it's rain check for you?"

"Yes, love, I'm sorry." Sirius sighed and squeezed her hand reassuringly. She smiled sweetly to him taking her hand from Karkaroff and turned to leave. She blew a kiss towards Sirius before turning.

When she was almost out of the room Karkaroff added:

"Oh, if you don't want, I can take care of her Black."

Mia turned hearing a high-pitched gasp and saw Sirius already at the other wizards face with the tip of his wand under his chin. Karkaroff was taller than he was, but he was clearly terrified by Sirius' gaze when he spoke in perfect Russian:

"_Say one more word. One more and you will regret it greatly._"

Karkaroff shuddered hearing Sirius' dispassionate voice but tried to push back also responding in Russian:

"_Or what? Will you get rid of me like you got rid of Dung Fletcher?_"

Sirius responded in an easy laugh and said with almost a gleeful tone:

"_No. Dung got it light. Because after I will be done with you there will be no trace that you've even existed, Igor._" he pressed the tip of his wand higher making the other man whimper and stand on the tiptoes to avoid it. "_You're not irreplaceable you know? And so far, the only thing you've managed to do is piss me off. Too often. Now apologize to the lady._" Sirius's eyes caught Mia still standing in the doorway; her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes gleamed with something akin to excitement.

When she caught his gaze, she bit her lip and quickly averted her eyes.

_Interesting..._

When Karkaroff turned his head a little bit to look at her she schooled her face back to the same disinterest she showed earlier,

"I'm very sorry miss. It was uncalled for." Karkaroff squeaked in English at which Mia smiled almost nicely and said in perfect Russian:

"_How's your Dark Mark, Karkaroff? Getting darker?_"

The question made the merchant open and close his mouth staring at her incredulously.

Sirius only shook his head looking as she turned around and left in a jaunty step closing the door behind her.

He could guess...

"Okay." he dropped his wand looking at still dumbfounded Karkaroff. "Let's see if what you brought is worth my time."

•••

It wasn't worth his time.

(_"It's not even a cup you fucking moron!"_

_"Of course, it is! And look! It even has badgers!"_

_"It's not a cup, more like a bloody bowl. And it clearly doesn't match the description I gave you! These badgers are not like those of the Hufflepuff emblem. And there are too many of them! You bought it from some badger-obsessed old lady?!"_)

He kicked out Karkaroff soon after Mia left and stayed in a foul mood for the rest of the day.

In the evening he was supposed to go to Remus; they had a quiet agreement and met regularly just to laze together.

Fabian laughed at them saying they were meetings of old, sad bachelors.

Sirius told him to go fuck himself.

So, he laid on the sofa in the evening in Remus' living room after a pint of beer, looking at the cracked cream-colored ceiling, while the werewolf read a book in the armchair nearby. His headache subdued after the dinner and some alcohol and left him with intrusive thoughts chasing in his head.

"Remus?" he said finally, his voice soft in the silent room.

"Hmm?" the werewolf responded with a hum followed by a rustle of paper.

"When we were together...what did you like about me?"

Sirius heard a hollow thud of a closing book and creak of the armchair when Remus reached for his teacup.

"Hmm...Why do you ask? You haven't been fishing for compliments for a long time." he wondered out loud. "Missed the old times?"

"Merlin, no...you were such a bore." Sirius groaned glancing at Remus.

"Funny, I remember you've moaned something else." werewolf chuckled when his friend flipped him off. "Where that came from Pads?"

"I dunno..." he drifted off thinking about where indeed that came from? "I feel so detached lately. From...I don't know...that's stupid really. Just forget it."

"Come on Sirius, I can see something's bothering you."

After a moment of silence Sirius finally sighed and said:

"I feel detached...I haven't really met anyone for almost a decade. Like really get to know somebody. I feel like the majority of people that surround me have this fixed vision of me that they are content with seeing. I think just...I feel very lonely, Moony..."

Remus clicked his tongue thoughtfully.

"I know it's been hard for you. Especially since Harry went to school. And I don't think that the problem really lies in you." he turned his armchair a little toward him. "You think it's something wrong with you?"

Sirius sat up and hung his head looking at his hands. They didn't look like the hands of an aristocrat; they were big, with long fingers, knuckles harden because of the beating he received and gave. The skin on them was slightly calloused from physical work he done in his life. Sometimes he had hard time scrubbing off the grease from his motorbike when he worked at it.

Of course, it wasn't often given how much work he had. Last time he did anything with it was back in March.

"Maybe it is something in me. I mean...how can you explain that I just can't, can't find any connection with others...And when I finally find it I'm so fucking scared..." he closed his hands tightly. "I'm so scared because I've fucked up so many things already. I alienate myself because I don't want to drag in anyone to this cursed bloodline...and then I look in the mirror and I see that day after day I look more and more like my mother..."

"Your mother was a beautiful woman..."

"Yeah, she was. But it's not entirely about the physical appearance. My mother was cold and heartless and as years went by it showed more and more in her eyes and face. And I feel like there's this gaping hole in me. And it's seeping outside. It's like I don't really deserve a happy ending. I feel like whatever I do everything's that rotten in my blood is just there waiting to pollute another part of my life. I'm not a good person by nature, Moony, not by blood. I can only pretend."

"Listen Pads." Remus leaned towards him to catch his gaze. When Sirius looked at him, he continued in a soft tone. "The reason you even think about it it's exactly why you're not like the rest of your family. You feel so much, care about so many people. And you need someone who understands that and has a heart as big as you have. Answering your question..." he leaned back taking his teacup and warming his hands around it. "I think the thing I loved the most about you, and all in all still love is how you just make everyone around you feel important. How you being the heir to a powerful pure-blood family reached out to a small, scared and ragged boy in the Hogwarts Express. And you stayed friends with this boy through the years even when he didn't deserve it." Remus smiled bitterly. "Because I've been an ass many times, Sirius, you can't deny. And yet you've always been there for me...and I loved the way you've made me feel...like the two of us were the only people who mattered..." he suddenly laughed and added in a slightly higher sing-song voice. "You Sirius Black are a boyfriend material. You make a girl feel special!"

"Don't make fun of me you prick." Sirius grumbled making Remus laugh.

"I'm not. I am being seri...wait." his golden-green eyes went comically wide. "It's about Mia, right? I mean...I saw you two. I wouldn't be worried if I was you whether she likes me or not. She does."

Sirius frowned.

"It's a problem, really. Especially that I like her too." he frowned at the inappropriate word, that did little to do the justice for the feelings he felt lately. "But I had this dream..."

He proceeded to tell his dream to Remus who listened carefully sometimes asking questions to verify or confirm something he found unclear.

When Sirius ended, he pursued his lips thoughtfully.

"I will admit that it is strange. But not overly strange. It doesn't seem to be a prophecy. Maybe a premonition of sorts. You had those earlier."

"I don't know why but it freaked me out Moony..." the other man admitted quietly. "I woke up terrified. And I don't know...It felt like it was my fault there. In that dream. It feels good to talk with her though. It feels like we've met already..."

"Go for it then." Remus said and when Sirius looked at him questioningly, he continued. "If there's a chance for some happiness for both of you then go for it. I would say that you shouldn't overthink it. You're brilliant, handsome and interesting. A little bit mad but who isn't right now? And you're charming when you want to. If it feels right, then why ignore it?"

_Indeed, why?_ Sirius thought sitting for a moment in silence. But suddenly he felt his lips stretch in a mischievous smile.

"So if you think so, then when you will finally ask Tonks out?"

The werewolf paled a little and cleared his throat.

"It's an entirely different situation..."

"It's not, mate. You feel it's right. I see how you look at her. And how you two interact with each other when you take out that broomstick out of your butt for like five seconds."

Remus shook his head.

"I'm not talking with you about it. I'm not talking about heart problems with a human-mess."

"Ey! I maybe a mess but I sincerely believe in a happy ending for you. More than I believe for a happy ending for me for that matter. Chances are still slim for you. But at least there are some..."

"Shut up, Padfoot."

"Never, Moony."

•••

Mia liked Marlene.

She very much reminded her of Alex but a little bit more put together.

So, when Marlene started pulling her out of her office to get lunch together, they quickly found a common language. The only thing Mia had to endure was Marlene's merciless teasing about her and Sirius. But it still was within good taste and Marlene didn't overused that, so it was okay.

During the third week of October while sitting in the canteen Mia finally snapped.

"Circe, why the food here is so horrible?!" she asked looking at something which in the menu was supposed to be a simple salad. It indeed looked like a salad but a very old and tasteless one.

Marlene snorted poking her dried-out chicken.

"I don't know. I guess it has something to do with the fact that the ministry gave up keeping the kitchen and house-elf's. I've heard that the Department of Mysteries is experimenting on the canteen with the multiplying spell." she said grimly. "That's why it tastes so bad."

"That's horrible." Mia scrunched her nose in disgust.

Working in the Ministry was tiring. She had to admit that MACUSA with all it's flaws and inconveniences was so much better that the UK Ministry. It made her miss home even more.

But on the other hand, being there extinguished some deep burning need that she felt inside her almost her whole life. She knew it was Hermione's doing.

It creeped her out a little; knowing that the familiarity she felt towards some of the people there was just a phantom of someone else's feelings. The connection she developed with them was underlined with old, dead memories.

Marlene was one of those people who didn't leave her with that feeling, since Hermione didn't have any memories of her.

"How the remodelling goes?" Marlene asked taking a sip of her pumpkin juice and lifting her brow.

Mia shrugged.

"Not so bad. It should be ready sometime after Halloween. I added some last-minute changes and made the goblins very mad with me for that."

"Ohhh! What is it? A secret chamber? A secret sex-chamber? A wine cellar? Maybe a giant wardrobe?" Marlene asked excitedly with a wicked glint in her baby-blue eyes.

"No!" Mia laughed. "I asked for an indoor pool and a sauna."

"That's good too!" the blonde smiled contently. "A girl deserves her own spa!" her smile turned mischievous. "And you can invite Lord Black for some steamy action!"

"Circe, what's wrong with you? You think about anything else?" Mia choked on her drink and swatted the other witches' arm.

Marlene shrugged without an ounce of shame on her face.

"I'm a single and bored office worker. I like to hear about other people's affairs."

"We don't have an affair."

"Not yet, sister. Merlin knows I haven't seen Sirius so interested in someone's company since...well since Pandora really."

Mia frowned.

"Who's Pandora?"

"Like who _was_ Pandora." Marlene shrugged. "She died a couple of years ago. She was with us in school three years higher. Strange bird. She was never a part of our friend group. But Sirius started to hang out with her often when he came back from Kangaroo Land...They seemed to be very good friends. But then the gossip started." she looked around to make sure nobody is eavesdropping and leaned in. "You see, Pandora was married, to a very eccentric fella, named Xenophilius Lovegood. He's a head redactor of a very weird magazine with conspiracies and articles about non-existing creatures. He and Pandora were school sweethearts and married almost right after finishing school. Xeno doesn't like Sirius at all and was very disapproving of their friendship. And the gossip that Sirius and Pandora have an affair didn't help. They ignored both the gossip and Xenophilius's rage. But then the tragedy happened. Pandora was a brilliant charm-maker and one of her experiments went very bad. She died from ricochet of her own spell. Her daughter was there when it happened."

"That's horrible!" Mia gasped. She knew this story. She knew how Luna lost her mother. But the variable in shape of Sirius's and Pandora's relationship was something new. She leaned in towards Marlene and asked quietly. "Do you think they had an affair though?"

"I love Sirius and he is a real sweetheart. Literally there's no other man I know who would invest so much of himself for the well-being of his family and friends. I'd like to think he wouldn't do something so...I don't know...dishonourable, you know? But then again, I didn't trust Pandora so much in that matter. And he was so..." she broke off and shook her head. "He was so vulnerable then."

"What are you whispering about ladies?"

Mia and Marlene almost jumped hearing Caleb's Nott voice form very nearby.

He stood next to them with a polite smile, but his eyes had that angered expression Mia saw so many times in other men eyes.

"That's not polite to eavesdrop, Mr. Nott." Marlene scolded him sharply. He regarded her with and cold glance before turning again towards Mia with that same smile. "Is it me or have you been avoiding me, Mia?"

Mia looked at her plate keeping her face as emotionless as she managed; Nott got on her nerves from the very beginning and now, after what Sirius told her, she also felt disgusted by him.

"I don't have time to avoid you Caleb. I have work to do."

"Then it's only more advisable for me to take you out on a dinner. You could relax and I could tell you more about our country and it's customs."

She looked at him feeling a pleasant smile stretch her lips; she felt she couldn't contain her sweet, laced with venom tone.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time, Caleb."

He smiled a little bit wider, but now it more resembled a grimace.

"For Lord Black you apparently had time."

"Frankly, that's none of your business."

"I just wonder why you're avoiding meeting with me so thoroughly."

Mia sighed; she really didn't enjoy doing things like that, but she had to all too often. So, she responded a little louder than previously:

"And I wonder how many times I have to decline your invitation without proposing an alternative date for you to understand that I'm not interested in a date with you, Caleb."

There were a few muffled chuckles from nearby tables that quickly dimmed down when Nott threw a dirty look at the nearby table.

Nott stepped closer; his cane clicked on the floor menacingly and Mia wondered did he held his wand inside of it. She also had this quick and sudden thought about kicking it from under him to see if he would collapse without the support.

"You are aware that I can make your life much more difficult here?" he asked quietly; the kindly façade vanished, and he resembled more the raged man from a year ahead.

"Yeah. Good luck trying." she waved him away. Mia meet Marlene's wide eyes. The blonde looked both terrified and impressed.

Judging by the fact that sound of Nott's cane and footsteps sounded after a couple of seconds he didn't expect her to brush his threat's so easily.

"He looked pissed." Marlene said carefully.

Mia took another sip of the pumpkin juice wincing slightly; her mind pointed her out that this one wasn't as good as the one served in Hogwarts.

"Good." she finally beamed a smile at the other woman.

•••

The evening was foggy, and moisture was in the air, causing Mia's hair to be completely out of control.

She swore under her breath the moment she stepped out of the public restroom that served as the entrance to the Ministry; her hair momentarily just fizzed and doubled the volume. She gathered it on the top of her head in a messy bun.

Mia headed for the Leaky Cauldron; she wanted to catch some autumn air in that short walk between the Ministry and her hotel.

The side-streets of London were deserted and dark. The wet pavement clicked hollowly under the high-heels of her boots. The only sounds beside that was the evening traffic and the overall hum of the city. She liked the solitude that came with living in a big city. She envied muggles for their anonymity; you had to be really someone for people to know you.

There were still too few of them for Wizards to even have this kind of possibility. You either lived within the community or existed on outskirts of it

She was leaving the office late. Again. The documents Sirius gave her through Percy turned out to be a comprehensive collection of statistics and reports from the last decade.

The foundations for the new law were decent. She didn't expect anything else from him, but it was still a nice feeling to know that there was at least one other person besides her and Percy who didn't mind the tedious paperwork.

Comparing this Sirius to the one she had in her mind came again naturally by itself. She really tried not to compare the two; how can you compare a seventeen-year-old trapped in a thirty-year-old ex-convict's body to a mature, cultured man.

And yet it still came to her and she still felt surprise time after time.

Like a couple of days ago in Sirius's office.

Mia saw the scorching rage in his grey eyes, saw the twitch of his brow and the tight set of his jaw. She expected him to burst with anger.

But he didn't. He held back. He told her about Nott with fire and bloodlust in his eyes. And yet his hand was gentle when he touched her arm. It was gentle when they stood and held hands looking at each other. The familiarity was there but it didn't creep her out like with the others. It wasn't forced.

It was delicate, it was welcomed.

The complete opposite of what she felt seeing the domineering, arrogant side of Lord Black. There was something ruthless and dangerous in him when he held his wand at Karkaroff's chin. There was something thrilling in his composed demeanour, in the mocking laugh.

Mia did not want to evoke exactly the impressions that this view caused. Nor did she want to think about the perverse flash she saw when her and Sirius' eyes met over ex-Death Eater's shoulder.

She really preferred to think about why exactly Sirius made any kind of businesses with that slimy creep. She still wondered how to discreetly check on Karkaroff's life after he left Azkaban because obviously, he wasn't Durmstrang's headmaster this time around...

She turned into another alley; narrow, dirty street filled with trash cans and the smell of urine.

To her tail's credit she really more felt in her gut it than heard any movement behind her. She spun on her heel with her wand already out of the holster and in her hand.

She remembered the day mum and dad took her to choose it. They were there almost an hour when the wandmaker at last brought a dusty box form the back of the small shop.

_"It's an unusual combination really."_ she said giving the wand to small ten-year-olds hand.

When she held it in her left hand it was like blood finally coursed through her veins for the first time in the ten years of her life. Daddy later often said that it was the day her hair fizzed with magic for the first time and that it kept doing this ever since.

It was then when for the first time she finally felt like the powerful magical being she was.

Yew wood, thunderbird feather core, eleven and one fourth inch, hard flexibility.

And now, seventeen years later, some cockroaches thought they could scare her, harm her in any way.

Jokes on them.

When she shouted the spell, they were just trying to aim at her.

"_Expeliarmus_!" his wand flew from his hand into Mia's extended palm. The wizard started running towards the exit of the alleyway.

The second one threw a sloppy hex which she deflected with a lazy wave of her wand. He sounded very young.

Not the brightest fishes in the pond.

She flicked her wand and with a loud bang the younger one shot five feet into air and just stayed there suspended by his ankle. His wand landed on the pavement with a click.

"FAAATHER!" the young one screamed.

'Father' apparently decided that his life was more precious than his offspring's and didn't even look back, still clumsily running away.

_Merlin, are you even real people?_

She didn't know how to even describe the feeling that accompanied her when she did The Trick.

It was a lame name, she knew that. But still better than 'evaporating', 'mysting',  
"poofing" or any other strange name Theo proposed her. The native name in Wichita language was such a mouthful she abandoned the idea to even try to use it.

Her skin suddenly felt cold, so cold it started to burn. And just like that she stopped feeling her weight, the clothes on her skin and the dangling of the haphazard bun on the top of her head. There was no autumn air and the putrid smell of the alleyway.

It was it.

The Trick made her feel like all her being blended with the air.

She darted towards the running man, materialising just behind him and landing with both her feet on his back. She bounced off his back and landed gracefully on the pavement. The man fell face-first onto the piss-stained pavement with a hollow grunt.

The kid screamed in the background.

Adrenaline coursed through her like a nice shot of firewhisky. She liked using The Trick in combat.

No...

She just liked fighting overall.

She called pointing her wand at the man:

"_Locomotor Mortis!_"

Mia walked lazily towards him crocking her head curiously when the man started to crawl away from her; his legs useless and limp. She waved her wand and he shoot a foot into the air with a loud yelp and landing on his back. He immediately covered his face with trembling hands. The Death Eater mask laid beside him useless. She still recognized him.

"Hello, there Flint. Such a strange coincidence, meeting you here. And I see you've brought your son with you."

Flint senior whimpered quietly, still covering his face. Mia sighed and waved her wand again; the wizard went stiff as a board and stared at her with wide, terrified eyes. Young Flint wiggled around in the air still screaming. With another flicker of her wand Flint Junior let out a weird choking sound.

"Better stop screaming, kid. With every sound you make, you will be choking more and more on your tongue."

The teen immediately went silent.

"Let me guess. It was his first mission? Not kill. You didn't want to kill me." she chatted while starting to rip Flint Senior's robes to display his chest and stomach. "That's unfortunate. I'm really surprised that you agreed to take Nott's dirty work, Filnt. That's so stupid. But my guess is that thinking has never been your strength." she lifted her wand a little and the remains of Flint's robes flew on the sides revealing his skinny ribs and hollowed out stomach. "Don't worry, it stops hurting after a few slashes." she said with a sincere smile and brought the end of the wand to the man's skin. He let out a muffled vail; his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. Sweat momentarily covered his forehead. "I must say I'm disappointed. I mean, I didn't expect Nott to just go and attack me in the dark alleyway. From what I've gathered he thinks he's too classy to do such things. Really, I'm just disappointed that they've sent someone so disposable and simple-minded after me. It looks like Death Eaters really have a problem with assessing their opponent." Mia chatted while doing the next lines; the man whimpered silently with every touch of the cutting tip of her wand.

His son just hanged limply without a sound. It looked that he just passed out.

"But hey! It's good for you Flint. It means you'll live. Since you don't have anything I want, and you are so disposable that even your colleagues don't care about you. We'll make a beautiful demonstration out of you and your son. I hope you like rats. I've heard that in Azkaban you must hunt for your meals. You like hunting, don't you? I can see you like hunting down muggles. Tsk, tsk, that's disgusting. They should at least try to teach you Occlumency, really." she pressed the tip of her wand a little harder and Flint howled through clenched teeth. "At least then I wouldn't have to hear that thought you had while fallowing me. You know...that one about having enough time to have some fun with me after you scare me enough." she laughed in an easy way. "Very brave of you to even think that."

Mia stood up looking at her work. The blood trickled down the pale, wrinkled flesh from the carved from three words she carved. Flint Senior looked like he was about to pass out. Ignoring him now she walked to young Flint's wand laying near the garbage can. She picked it up; it was dirty, covered in fingerprints and generally poorly kept.

_Well, he won't miss it anyway._ She thought and snapped the wand in half. She waved hers and the young Flint collapsed on the pavement.

Mia lifted the charm that kept him silent and pointed her wand at his temple and muttered:

"Obliviate." with the flicker of a soft, green light she started working at his memories, altering them, deleting most of them, and adding new ones in their place. When she finished the boy immediately opened his eyes wide looking blankly towards the sky with confusion.

He stood up slowly looking around dumbly and blinked a few times before asking:

"I'm sorry, m'am, but do you know where I am?" he looked at his petrified father lying on the pavement. "Something happened? Do I need to call help?"

Mia smiled and cooed:

"Oh no, don't worry. I already called the doctors to help this man. I'll wait with him here. You look lost though, hon. Maybe you should go to the police station at the end of the Brining Road and ask for help?" she said recalling the farthest form their location police station she could think off. "It's that way." she waved her hand.

The boy looked confused like his two last brain cells tried to gather up and understand anything from what was happening. The thought flashed through Mia's head that perhaps clearing his memory had damaged the remnants of intellect that were left to Flint after the countless Bludgers he had taken on his head for years of playing Quidditch.

But finally, there must have been some kind of conclusion in his mind because he nodded and said:

"Okay. Thank you m'am. I really think I'm actually lost. I'll go there."

And just like that Marcus Flint, wobbled out of the alleyway leaving behind his father, just like he wanted to leave him earlier.

Mia turned again towards the other man who laid on the dirty pavement, breathing hard and looking at her with bloodshot eyes.

She smiled lifting her wand again.

"You see Flint? We _will_ have some time for more fun."

•••

"Black!" Sirius just exited the lift with his cup of take out coffee in one hand and a copy of The Financial Times folded up on the page with stock market forecast tables when he heard Fabian calling his name. When he saw the Auror's face he immediately became alert.

Fabian motioned for him to fallow and they made their way towards the Auror's Headquarters.

There was some kind of nervous energy between the cubicles, but Fabian ignored it and led them inside of his office.

When the door closed behind Sirius, Fabian without pleasantries said:

"Kiefer Flint turned himself in today."

_What?_

"What?" Sirius asked out loud with big eyes.

"He turned himself in." Fabian repeated seriously. "He admitted being a Death Eater. And he admitted to..." the redhead took a deep breath. "...to buying underage muggle girls on a black-market auctions."

"Shit." Sirius swore under his breath and added "But this is good. One off the list."

"That's not all." Fabian's expression was unreadable when he picked up a photograph form his desk and handed it to the other man.

Sirius took the photo and felt cold chills running down his spine.

The photograph showed Kiefer Flint with unbuttoned robes and shirt showing off his pale chest and stomach covered in bloody, dried-up slash marks forming a sentence:

TOM RIDDLE I'M COMING FOR YOU


	11. Chapter 9- Come fly with me

"_Once I get you up there_  
_Where the air is rarefied_  
_We'll just glide_  
_Starry-eyed_  
_Once I get you up there_  
_I'll be holding you so near_  
_You might hear_  
_All the angels cheer because we're together_

_Weather-wise, it's such a lovely day_  
_Just say those words and we'll feed those birds_  
_Down to Acapulco Bay_  
_It is perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say_  
_Come on fly with me, we'll fly, we'll fly away, we'll fly_"

Frank Sinatra- Come fly with me

* * *

Sometimes Mia talked with Hermione in her dreams.

She remembered the first time she saw her; she always looked to be the exact age Mia was at the time. She remembered seeing her first at the age of five. She saw then a small, conceited looking girl with bushy hair and big front teeth.

That dreams almost always took place in a giant library with big gothic windows. Hermione told her later that it was the Hogwarts library.

Mia decided from the beginning that she would try to be almost everything that girl wasn't.

They didn't talk much back then.

It came with time. At the beginning, Mia mostly screamed at Hermione about the nightmares, about the horrors she saw, and the sheer unfairness of the fact that she was even in this situation.

But time after time they started talking.

It turned out that they had more in common than shared memories.

They talked about school and schoolwork. Compared their lives Ilvermorny and Hogwarts.

They talked about friends from school; Hermione was jealous of Mia's girlfriend pack. Mia was jealous of Hermione's friendship with boys.

They talked about magic and shared knowledge.

They talked about their heartbreaks and fears.

They swoon over boys and men. Mia laughed at Hermione when she admitted to her crush on Gilderoy Lockheart.

They've giggled with blushing faces talking about sex and their experiences, hopes and fantasies.

Sometimes Mia had the impression that Hermione tried to shield her from nightmares.

Then came 1981.

Mia had a breakdown after returning from every single Death Eater killing escapade. The light in her eyes snuffed out by exhaustion and violence she saw and caused and was replaced by something cold and calculating.

She and Hermione didn't talk even once during her time there.

As if Hermione was ashamed that Mia had to do these things because of her.

She returned to Ilvermorny late for the beginning of the semester by one and a half month, a different girl than before the summer break.

Until the end of school, Hermione rarely appeared in her dreams.

Mia thought it was good. She preferred to deal with nightmares rather than cowards.

Then she joined the Thunderbirds.

Hermione came back. Older. About nineteen years old. And she has not aged a day since then.

They've started talking again.

Hermione cheered Mia's relationship with Mark.

She let her cry in her dreams when he died.

Hermione then stayed quiet for next couple of years.

Mia went about her day, sometimes feeling empty and sad, like some part of her was missing.

She planned for the coming years with pious meticulousness. She decided that she would end Hermione's case once and for all and finally regain total control over her life.

Then she broke up with Magnus and some of her plans crumbled. But some remained and she still wanted to proceed with them.

But Hermione still stayed away, even when Mia finally came to the UK.

Until now.

"Don't you think you overdo it a little?" Mia heard a reproachful, female voice with a prominent British accent from behind her back. She turned only to see Hermione with her wild hair, pale, freckled face and furrowed brows looking at her angrily.

"Shut up." she responded bitterly. "You wanted revenge, so you will get your revenge. Besides they're only Death Eaters."

"They're still human!" the other girl shrieked throwing her hands into the air. "We're supposed to be the good ones, remember?!"

Mia crossed arms on her chest and huffed.

"We are the good ones. But I'm not goin' to tip toe over murderers and sickos because thy princesses' moral compass is hurting. I still want to live through it, you know?"

Hermione bit her lips clearly trying not to say something harsh. They shared quite a few quirks and as it hadn't irritated her once, it was driving her crazy now. Finally, Hermione spoke:

"You should at least tell Sirius about me."

"And then what? Leave him with the impression that I'm insane? Like Magnus thinks?"

"He's different, Mia. He's and ally and you both have the same goal..."

"Here's the thing, Hermione!" Mia said mockingly accentuating her name. "You are almost right about both these things. This Sirius Black is indeed different! He's different than the one you remember! He's not the same man! He's a different person with different baggage of experience and different complexity of emotions than that man-child you memorised so fondly! This man is as ruthless as any Death Eater you've met in your life. It doesn't matter that his motivation maybe noble. He would strangle me with his bare hands if he knew what Harry will go through because I didn't stop it." Hermione flinched at this and Mia huffed a humourless laugh. "And surprise, surprise! Everyone is different! Even Harry will be different, and I guarantee to you that when I'll finally meet him, he will be someone else than I saw in your memories. This world is already different Hermione! It's filthy here!" she hissed, feeling the anger rise up in her. "It's nasty. These people you saw as 'only' Death Eaters are so much more. And don't get me wrong! I bet that they were the same when you dealt with them! But you never dealt with them you dealt with their kids which are, no offence, laughable! You've got barely the taste of what these people do for fun when that crazy bitch, sweet cousin o'mine, carved a slur into your arm! But still, the only thing you decided to do is appear after the fact and patronize me."

She spat out words quickly as if they were poison, as if the frustration she had accumulated over the past few years was a weapon that could inflict the same pain as the one that digested her from the inside. It felt as if something had been breaking inside her for a long time.

And this time again before her was the only person in the world who really understood why.

Hermione shook her head with a sad expression and tears in her eyes.

"I...I'm just worried about you. And about everyone else..."

"Don't worry about me!" Mia shouted throwing her hands into air. "Just let me do what I'm supposed to do! You had your chance to make this right! So now it's time for us to do it my way! Okay?!"

Hermione nodded still looking hurt and Mia sighed feeling like the worst bitch.

"I've got this. Just leave it to me. Please...I just...sit with me and let's talk. Help me sleep through this night, okay?"

They looked at each other in silence and without saying a word they sat at their usual table under one of the big gothic windows. There was a longer silence and finally Mia started talking about last few years; she knew Hermione saw them but she didn't care. She just wanted to talk. And Hermione wanted to listen.

For that night, it had to be enough.

•••

The next two days Mia spent almost entirely on the battlefield that was the reconstruction of the house in Yorkshire.

The goblins carrying out the order were extremely dissatisfied with her presence, but she definitely preferred their grumbling than playing hide and seek with Lord Black in the corridors of the Ministry. So, she informed Percy she will be taking care of a few personal matters outside the office.

The renovation looked good and the goblin foreman assured her that they will finish at the latest till next Saturday.

Mia, pleased with that apparated back to Diagon Alley, deciding to do something she thought about for some time already.

She smiled lightly to herself walking into the Magical Menagerie.

•••

The evening before going to Hogwarts she planned on spending in her pyjamas with a book and a glass of wine.

Okay, maybe more than one glass.

She even played some music from the vinyl player that she dragged with her from the States.

She was sitting on the couch in the living room area in her hotel suite, contemplating if she should mirror-call Charlotte to check if she was up to a drunken game of cards after putting Ariel to bed.

Crookshanks was rummaging through the suitcase she started packing for tomorrow.

She abandoned it midway through, now her clothes scattered around the floor.

The next morning she would just throw inside whatever she could find.

It was her usual style of...basically, managing most of her life outside work.

Mia smiled seeing the cat play with a loose piece of ribbon he found. The fluffy ball of red fur paced around her head since she came to UK. She wondered if anyone took him during that additional year, he spend in the Menagerie. But apparently his crooked legs and flat snoot just made him loose the fight for attention with other, more appealing cats.

But she didn't care. He was beautiful in his own way and the intelligence that shone in his yellow eyes just made her sure he was supposed to be her familiar.

A sudden knocking made her jump slightly.

She hiccupped and swore loudly.

_Of course. Of. Fucking. Course._

She stood up quickly grabbing a robe that laid on the floor nearby and wrapping herself tightly. She grabbed her wand and went to the door carefully.

The knocking came again.

"Yes?" she called out standing next to the door.

"It's me, Mia."

_Sirius?_

She put her wand into the robes pocket and cracked the door slightly.

It was Sirius. With hair in a messy bun, a black hoodie, jeans and sneakers with a coat haphazardly thrown over his shoulders. He was pale and there was a five o'clock shadow on his jaw and cheeks.

"I said at the reception that I don't want any visitors tonight." she sighed and stepped back letting him in. "How did you get here?"

"On all fours." he responded with a raspy chuckle, but Mia had a strange feeling it wasn't a joke. "I wanted to make sure you're okay. I looked for you in the Ministry but then Marlene said she didn't saw you yesterday."

Mia crossed arms on her chest; they stood awkwardly facing each other.

"You should always talk with Percy if you can't find me."

"I've talked w ith him. I'm invited for a dinner at Weasley's next weekend." Sirius said with a pained expression making Mia chuckle.

It sounded a little drunkenly at which he crooked a brow and smirked at her.

"I see you've started your evening already." he motioned for the empty wine bottle and another freshly opened. "With a bang."

"Even if so, that's none of your business." she grumbled, took her wand and waved it making her clothes dart to the wardrobe like a floc of colourful birds. Crookshanks ran after them with an angry hiss.

"That's a cat?" Sirius asked lifting slightly his upper lip, like he wanted to growl.

"Yesss! It's Crookshanks!" Mia cooed taking the cat on hands and lifting it like a child. She nuzzled into the red, soft fur.

"Crookshanks? I feel sorry for your future children." he laughed seeing the dirty look that Mia threw him.

"You came here just to judge my way of spending a free evening and to insult my cat?"

He shook his head; a few strands of hair slipped from his updo and framed his face.

He looked tired.

"I told you. I wanted to make sure you're fine."

Dark circles under his eyes looked even deeper because of the pallor of his cheeks and the shadow of his stubble. His grey eyes had a very feverish look in them.

In spite of herself, her mind offered her the image of an emaciated, dirty man in prison robes with long black hair partially covering of his skull-like, cadaverous face, the same feverish expression in his sunken, grey eyes.

She involuntarily thought that Lord Black did not have a prison number tattooed on his neck. He had other tattoos, at least on his forearms as far as she could tell, some of which she recognized. But their overall picture was different and better suited this version.

"I was worried...with the things that happened through last two days."

"What happened?" Mia asked, feigning curiosity. Of course she knew what's been going on, more or less.

"Flint handed himself to law enforcement. And he admitted to doing some fucked up shit..." Sirius ran a hand over his face. "I spent almost entire last two days on his estate. We searched it. We found really disturbing stuff there."

"Why you searched it? Shouldn't the Aurors do it?" she frowned but Sirius only shrugged.

"I was an Auror. And I'm a quite decent curse breaker." he said flatly. "And Fabian trusts me. And he really has a handful of trusted people right now. And...there were things he needed his trusted people to secure. Just to secure the conviction. I mainly wanted to check on you because there was a second squad searching Nott's mansion. Flint sold him over. But there was nothing there. Nott was furious regardless. I was afraid he could...do something harsh. Given the strange circumstances in which the whole thing happened." he added the last sentence with and wry smile.

Mia didn't acknowledge it still stroking Crookshanks head, the cat purring loudly in her arms, but Sirius continued, involuntarily taking a step toward her.

"Flint won't leave Azkaban. But there's this one thing that bothers me, really...I just can't get it off my mind..." he said taking another step and squeezing the bridge of his nose. "The thing is...we can't find Marcus Flint. Kiefer's son. He finished Hogwarts last year. His mother is going mad because he left three days ago with his father and didn't come back home. And I wonder...I keep wondering what could have happen to that boy? Because, you see..." he took another step which made Crookshanks hiss silently. Sirius reached out his hand towards the cat, who sniffed it carefully only to crook himself to let the man pet him. "...I don't like the concept of kids paying for their father's sins. I'm really, really not a fan of this concept. I wonder what could have happened to him?"

They looked at each other silently for a while; Mia holding the damn cat, which purred like a little motorbike while Sirius scratched his head.

She really wanted to comb back the loose hair strands from his face.

Maybe let her hands linger in that black mane.

Maybe touch his face and maybe kiss his cheek again like that time when he escorted her to the hotel.

Maybe she liked the way he smelled like burned sage, and leather and wood and raspberries of all things.

Maybe she liked the way his eyes lingered while looking at her.

And the way his lips formulated words with this raspy voice of his.

And that posh accent...

Circe...

She was drunk and she looked at him in silence far too long.

She cleared her throat feeling her face burn.

"I think that the boy is safe. Maybe just on his way to a better life...maybe outside the magical community. But I would say that I think he is definitely alive." she said carefully. He nodded; the tension visible in his shoulders disappeared a little.

He smiled sadly.

"Good. Marcus Flint is a stupid kid who doesn't know any better. It's not his fault he was born in that family. Merlin knows how many of those are there."

"You broke off with your family still being the same age as that stupid kid. You did this even earlier as far as I know." Mia said glancing at him. There was a pained expression that crossed his face before he chuckled clearly willing to hide whatever bad memory her words invoked.

"Yeah...I broke off with them...How are you travelling tomorrow to Hogwarts?" he asked suddenly.

"I have a Floo to the Three Broomsticks set up. I've rented a room there. Why?"

"Well...I've promised you a tour around Hogwarts. If you're still interested of course."

She felt her lips stretch into a smile.

"Why wouldn't I? I said that it's a date."

He huffed a laugh and nodded.

"Good, that's good. That's a one ugly cat, but he's nice for a one."

"He's a half kneazle. And he's not ugly." Mia pressed the cat closer to her chest and placed a kiss on top of his fluffy hair.

"Oh, I should have known that you're a cat person! The sings where there." Sirius laughed and shook his head. He went to the door with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"How do you distinguish a cat person?"

Lord Black turned to her with a big, mischievous grin and his hand already on the doorknob.

"You can get on my nerves so easily that it's obvious that you're a cat mom."

He laughed when she flipped him off, waved goodbye and left.

•••

She welcomed the next day with a slight headache and panic when she discovered she overslept thanks to the wine she finished alone after Sirius left and the dreams that plagued her later.

They weren't her usual nightmares. They were...

Full of hooded with passion grey eyes, long black hair, insatiable lips and big, warm hands...

Well, admittedly her dry season lasted longer than ever but even she felt her cheeks burn when she thought about that dream. Right before she woke up, she felt Hermione's prude indignation coming in waves from that part of her mind she usually occupied.

It wasn't the fact that she had those dreams that angered Hermione, rather who those dreams were about.

She pushed those thoughts aside while throwing clothes into her open trunk in a frenzy.

Half an hour later she tumbled from the fireplace into still empty Three Broomsticks only to see Sirius leaning over the bar and talking to a voluptuous barmaid. He said something at which she bursted out with a hearty, hoarse laugh.

There was that jealous pang that Mia didn't want to dwell on.

In that moment Sirius saw her from the corner of his eye and turned fully towards her; he looked rested and was clean shaved. But his hair was again in a messy bun and he wore a muggle attire; black jeans, sweater, motorbike boots and a worn off leather jacket.

He grinned to her.

"Hangover love?"

"After two bottles?" Mia huffed and turned towards the barmaid. "I have a reservation for a room. Two nights. "

"Potter, right? Oh Merlin, you look nothing like them! I'm Rosmerta. Come on, dear, I'll show you to your room. And you!" she waved her finger at Sirius who immediately made an innocent face. "Be a decent boy and take a look on the bar while I'm gone."

"Yes, Madame!" he saluted jokingly and leaned again over the counter. He winked at Mia.

Madame Rosmerta led her up the stairs to the upper floor of the inn.

"Merlin, like a little boy, I swear! If he wasn't so charming, I would strangle him years ago!" Rosmerta ranted until she stopped in front of blue, wooden door. "Here you go dear! I hope it'll be okay. If you'll need anything, you can find me either downstairs at the bar or on the second floor, second door on the left, okay?" the woman smiled warmly.

"Thank you, I'm sure it'll be lovely." Mia smiled; Madame Rosmerta was as charming as Hermione remembered.

"I love your accent dear! Where are you from?" the barmaid asked curiously while Mia levitated her trunks inside the room; it was a simple bedroom with a small bathroom. The furniture was in the style that she associated with a typical neat inn. The interior was decorated in white and blue.

"I grew up in Los Angeles, but I jumped from place to place when I went to school. I guess it's just a mix of everything I've picked up along the way."

Mia went back downstairs with Rosmerta while she chatted about that one customer from San Franciso who had the 'most lovely accent she ever heard!'. Sirius seeing them pushed from the counter putting his hands into pockets of his jacket.

"Ready for the tour?"

"Yep. Even wore normal shoes for once." she waved her foot in flat boots.

"What tour?" Rosmerta asked clearly thirsty for some gossip; Sirius just put a finger to his lips and smiled.

"Bye Rosmerta!" he said in a sing-song voice grabbing Mia's hand and dragging her from the inn.

The morning was crisp and cold. The sun made the sky opalescent; it's colour somewhere between baby blue and white. Hogsmeade's main street was almost completely deserted because of the still-too-early hour.

The gravel crunched under their boots when they walked down the road. The few passers they saw eyed them curiously; Mia guessed the Daily Prophets article was still fairly fresh in their minds and seeing them walk, holding hands in the middle of Hogsmeade could cause some gossip.

Sirius looked like he didn't mind though. He was buzzing with some restless energy; his eyes were shining as he glanced at her every now and then.

"You had too much sugar?" Mia laughed.

"I don't know." he admitted with a laugh. "I've slept well, and I couldn't stop thinking about today. I was looking forward to it."

"To showing me Hogwarts?" she asked teasingly at which he only shrugged.

"I'm kind of jealous, you know? You can only once see Hogwarts for the first time. Admittedly seeing the castle from the school grounds is nothing compared to seeing it from the lake, but still."

"From the lake?"

"Yes! If you go down the main road there's a train station." he pointed towards a small aggregation of buildings looming in the distance. "Each year Hogwarts Express transports students from King's Cross Station here. Then the first-year students sail to the castle by boat and older years ride in carriages." he waved his hand towards the opposite direction. "And the castle will be visible just...around...this corner." at that moment they passed the street corner and Mia saw a castle on the top of the hill just above the surface of a huge, dark lake. Unintentionally, she opened her mouth in amazement.

Hogwarts Castle was enormous with countless towers and turrets it loomed over its extensive grounds bathed in golden autumn aura. Flocks of birds, likely owls, circled between masts and towers and greyish-green fields. Mia saw a tall tower that must have been the owlery because the flocks started and landed their flights there.

The forest surrounding both the castle and Hogsmeade looked like a dark, impenetrable mass. At the edge of it was a small hut with a string of white smoke rising from the chimney and a patch of fenced field.

The clear, autumn air and the bright, cold light of the early morning made everything look surreal.

Buried under all of her delight and surprise there was this pang of sorrow and nostalgia that Hermione felt thinking about Hogwarts.

"I gather that you like it?" Sirius' amused voice pulled her out of her wonder.

"You were right. It really is something" she admitted softly, mainly meaning these words to Sirius but partly directing them to Hermione who always insisted that her memories of Hogwarts aren't just altered by nostalgia.

That her old school is truly a wonder.

Sirius squeezed her hand lightly and they continued walking down the main street of Hogsmeade.

•••

Walking around Hogwarts grounds took them a good portion of the morning.

Sirius showed her Hagrid's hut, the Black Lake and the Giat Squid.

(_"It almost ate me one day!"_

_"Bullshit, they're not aggressive!"_

_"I swear on my mother's tender heart!"_

_"That's a very bad thing for you to swear on, Sirius Black."_)

They've saw the Whomping Willow and Sirius explained to her how Remus used it every month to get to the Shrieking Shack. He didn't mention about the Marauders becoming an animagi to accompany their werewolf friend during his transformation.

When they entered the castle, the Sunday breakfast was in full swing; voices of students buzzed from the half-open doors to the Great Hall.

Sirius threw a careful look towards the Hall and tugged her in the opposite direction.

"What's there?" Mia asked.

"The Great Hall. But we'll eat breakfast in the kitchens. We officially shouldn't be here so it's better to stay out of the crowd."

"Why? I thought you're the schoolboards chairman."

He looked her in the eyes and sent her a lopsided grin.

"YOU shouldn't be here. Dumbledore wrote to me asking to keep you out of the castle until the official part of the Tournament."

Mia narrowed her eyes.

_That old fucker._

She felt disappointed but fairly, not surprised.

"And you decided that it would a great idea to take me here nonetheless?"

"Of course!" Sirius said happily, leading her through the dark corridors. "I won't let Dumbledore spoil my fun." he murmured as they reached a painting of fruit bowl. He reached towards it and tickled the green pear. The fruit giggled audibly and transformed into a green doorknob.

"What do you mean by 'spoil _your_ fun'?" Mia asked suspiciously at which he just flashed her a heart-melting smile opening the portrait and leading her into the kitchen.

"I've meant our fun of course. Don't worry, love."

Mia hummed sceptically; she had a crippling feeling that the retired Marauder was preparing something she won't appreciate as much as the rest of the tour.

•••

After the breakfast at which Mia had to almost fend off the pampering kitchen-elves that swarmed her after Sirius introduced her as a 'friend' he led her outside again towards the Quidditch Pitch.

She could see small figures of players darting high above the ground; judging by the red and gold smudges they've made it was the Gryffindor team training.

She felt uncomfortable even watching them.

She often wondered if her fear of flying was her own thing or if it was just Hermione's phobia projecting on her.

"You want to meet Harry?"

Mia looked at Sirius with big eyes; his expression was solemn, and gaze was cautious and searching.

What he wanted to achieve? Show her '_hey, this is the boy who's life depends on your actions._'?

If so than it was far too _kind_ on his side. It was enough for her to look him in the eyes knowing that in another life he would be dead in a year and a half.

Did she want to meet Harry?

She had to admit she was curious. Mainly the things that would be different in Harry after growing up with Sirius.

And maybe just a tad bit what was so special in this boy.

All in all, so many people would die in his wake...

"You don't mind?" she finally asked.

Sirius looked at her with a soft smile. She couldn't bear the tenderness she saw in his eyes.

"I think you should. You're his family after all."

Mia looked down and nudged a patch of loose soil with the tip of her shoe.

_Lilith, help me...He's going to hate me so much._

"Are we though? We're really not even related." she asked quietly.

She felt his hand under her chin delicately guiding her to look up at him. He took her hand and drew soothing circles with his thumb. His other thumb drawn over her bottom lip which she started nervously tugging at with her teeth, freeing it from the abuse.

She didn't even realise she started doing it.

Mia wondered how anyone could have such expressive eyes. Because there was a lot for her to unpack in the way Sirius looked at her in that moment. She couldn't focus when Sirius looked at her like that.

"Maybe not by blood. But by magic...definitely. Besides..." he hesitated like he wondered how to put his thoughts into words. "I _want_ you two to meet. I feel like it's important. To me and...just generally speaking. If you don't mind of course."

She nodded. The sooner she met Harry, the better.

The way his eyes lit up made her smile. His enthusiasm was contagious. It gave him some kind of boyish and mischievous vibe despite the greying temples and crow feet forming faintly at the corners of his eyes.

"Let's go!"

The closer they were, the more weight Mia felt in her stomach.

She couldn't say if it was more related to the players flying on the brooms above their heads or something else... She wasn't used to this kind of stress. Rather, she used to completely ignore all stressors and blow off the steam later at home.

When they entered the Quidditch Pitch, Sirius put two fingers into his mouth and whistled piercingly. Few heads turned towards them; Mia saw one of the figures waved and the players slowed down and relaxed visibly. Two figures darted towards the ground. One of them, a small girl with fiery red hair, hopped to the ground from almost 5 feet discarding her broom on the grass. The second one, a tall boy, landed softly and swinged the broom over her shoulder.

The girl darted towards Sirius with a squeal and threw her arms around his shoulders hugging him.

"Uncle Sirius!"

Sirius laughed and swirled with her making her feet dangle in the air.

Mia didn't expect Ginny there. Not at all.

Ginny from Hermione's memories was too shy at the age of thirteen to even talk properly with her older brother's friend.

This Ginny just hugged Sirius like a favourite uncle she hasn't seen for far too long.

The boy just reached them with an easy stride.

"Hi dad!"

Harry James Potter was almost nothing like she remembered.

Gone was the malnourished, bony kid she had in the memories. Fourteen years old Harry was tall, fit and was oozing with easy confidence that was so characteristic for Sirius in his youth. But his black hair was as messy as ever and his emerald eyes were cautious behind his glasses. The silvery, resembling a lightning, scar stood out on his tanned skin and peeked through his hair, spreading on eyelids and the bridge of his nose.

He put down his broom and hugged Sirius with a smile.

"I've came to say 'hi' before tonight." Sirius patted his son on the back. "And I wanted to introduce you to someone." he winked to Mia above Harry's shoulder at which she rolled her eyes. The boy turned towards her with slightly suspicious and guarded expression.

"Hi Harry, I've heard so much about you." Mia nodded with a polite smile. "I'm Mia Potter."

"You're my family?" Harry asked frowning. Mia threw a glance at Sirius who nodded slightly. She saw that Ginny was looking gingerly between the three of them.

"Yes, a distant one but yes."

Harry narrowed his eyes still looking uncertain.

_Well, he's still a kid._

But she still couldn't get why he looked so cautious about her.

Mia didn't have much experience when it came to dealing with teenagers.

Sirius sensing the awkward atmosphere turned to Ginny:

"Ginny! Congratulations on becoming the seeker! I knew you would do great." he said smiling warmly. The girl beamed.

"Well, the trial was easy, so it wasn't really a bother. But thanks uncle." she waved her hand pretending not to consider it as a great achievement but the sparkle in her eyes and the sly smile tugging at the corner of her mouth told Mia that she was proud of herself. "But you could tell Harry to get his act together because we just started the training and Angelina is already threatening to strangle him."

"Gin!" Harry hissed but the redhead only laughed mockingly and continued.

"He's so distracted thinking about Cho Chang that he just misses every time someone passes him the quaffle."

"Ginny!" the boy groaned again this time seeing the mischievous smile that bloomed on his father's face.

"Cho Chang, ey?" Sirius asked and chuckled seeing Harry's face go red.

Mia watched all of this with a smile; small details stayed the same but seeing Ginny tease Harry like one of her brothers just warmed her heart.

"It's not important!" Harry said quickly. "You're staying till tomorrow?"

Sirius nodded.

"Yes. I'm going back to London on Monday morning. There's...a lot of things going on right now." he shook his head and glanced at Mia.

Harry, clearly not knowing the full story, interpreted that words and that look in his own way, and clearly annoyed asked:

"So...are you two dating or what?"

In that exact moment Ginny shoved her elbow into his side and Sirius flicked his forehead.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

"That was a reminder that there is such thing as good manners, and you are still obliged to use them." Sirius responded lightly. Ginny huffed a laughter and said:

"Come on, Harry. We should get back before Angelina hexes us out of the team."

"She wouldn't...this team wouldn't score a single point if it wasn't for me..." Harry grumbled but picked up his broom and without looking at them shoot into the air.

Ginny looked at them apologetically and ran to pick up her broom. A second later she was also in the air.

"Well...that went strangely." Mia said blowing away a stray hair-strand from her face.

"Forgive him..." Sirius said looking up after his son; his voice was underlined with irritation. "He's...used to being two of us, three when Remus lived with us. I don't meet people...let alone date. I've usually just fend off various individuals, because in majority they see in us a rich, eye-candy and the 'Boy who lived'." he ran his hand over his face looking fed up with even thinking about it. He looked at her and mustered up an awkward smile.

"I get it." Mia shrugged. "I mean, I can't even count guys who thought I only ever dreamt about being their trophy wife." she felt as awkward as he looked. "It must be hard being a single parent, managing the family business and try to keep you two happy and safe...even when it means that there's only the two of you."

He shrugged and put his hands into his pockets looking at his b

"Sometimes I regret coming back here." he admitted quietly. "We would definitely have less problems living in Aussie and minding our own business."

She looked up at the Quidditch players darting around in the air; she couldn't tell which one is of them is Harry or Ginny.

She felt guilty knowing what waited for them in the future. She dreaded it and felt responsible.

She hated it.

Through years she convinced herself that the feelings she had towards wizards and witches from United Kingdom that she remembered but never met, were only echoes of those Hermione projected on her.

She convinced herself that the guilt that plagued her wasn't hers.

Now she wasn't so sure about that.

But she was nearly sure that Sirius and Harry staying away from Voldemort and his fallowers in the UK would only cause him to expand quicker to other countries looking for the child that defeated him first time.

"There's no sense in thinking about 'what if's'." she finally said. "You made the choice you thought was the best for both of you back then. That's what matter now."

Sirius nodded and smiled slightly; he didn't look convinced. He motioned with his head towards the audience stands.

Mia fallowed him still deep in thought; she almost collided with his back when he stopped. She looked around and realised that he led them towards the broom shack near the one of the locker rooms. She frowned confused seeing the mischievous glint in his eyes when he turned to her.

"Why are we here?" she asked suddenly feeling suspicious. "You want to show me your favourite snog closet or what?"

Sirius chuckled shaking his head. He opened the shack and picked up one of the brooms.

"Seeing Hogwarts from the lake for the first time is wonderful and all...but seeing the castle from above is the real thing." he leaned on the broom looking at her playfully.

"No." Mia's eyes went wide when she realised what he wanted to do. "Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on, Mia." he looked at her pleadingly. "It's breath-taking! Worth seeing even just once!"

"I don't fly! I've told you the last time I've tried I've almost crashed!" she turned, wanting to go back to the castle, as far from the damned brooms and Quidditch pitch as she could but Sirius, dropped the broom and grabbed her by the wrist, tugging her lightly, making her spin and collide with his chest.

The witch gasped quietly. She lifted her eyes, ready to nag him when she met his stare.

If there were awards for the most heart-breaking puppy eyes, Sirius Black would just snuff out the competition. She felt heat rush to her cheeks. She probably would get mad at herself for getting so flustered if it wasn't for his racing heart, she felt under her palms that told her that he was as nervous as she was. His hand on her waist was warm and firm.

"Come on, fly with me..." he purred. "I promise to keep you safe, love."

Mia felt her mind went blank for a second and before she thought this out she asked:

"You won't go fast?"

The old Marauder beamed.

"I'll be as slow as a flobberworm under the slowing-charm." he took a step back and crossed his heart with one hand. He mounted the broom and extended his palm towards her.

Mia felt that her hand suddenly became cold and sweaty.

Why she even agreed?

Why?

_Because you're a soft idiot that's why_.

She took his hand and let him lead her to sit behind him guiding her hands around his waist.

She gripped him tightly squeezing nervously around his midriff and pressed her face into his leather-clad back. He put a calming hand on hers and grabbed the broom handle.

"Ready?"

"No." she mumbled into his back and felt a low rumble of his laughter.

And then he shot up.

The air whistled in her ears drowning out her own scream. She squeezed her eyes shut so hard she almost saw stars under her eyelids.

Sirius...didn't go slow.

They darted high into the crisp, autumn air. Her loud curses mixed with his barking laughter and the whiz of every manoeuvre Sirius did.

And just then hearing him laugh, feeling the rush of air in her hair she felt the overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

The air, the slightly coloured with insanity laughter, the massive body of a hippogriff beneath her.

A man on the run holding her for his dear life while she and his godson helped him escape his fate.

And she felt an echo of what Hermione felt that night; fear, excitement, freedom.

But then they darted up, then down, then left, then it felt like they made a barrel roll.

Mia wasn't sure, she just cursed and screamed alternately.

The memories evaporated, replaced by her own despise of flying.

After a while she felt that they were slowing down and that their flight was levelling out.

Her hands were numb from how tightly she held on to Sirius.

They've stopped; the air whistled around them and she knew they were high, high above the ground.

"Open your eyes, Mia. The view's amazing." she heard Sirius's amused voice.

"No" she grumbled with her face still tucked away into his back.

"Come on..." again with that purring, raspy voice. "Be a brave girl for me."

Her resolve broke a little, but her mind was still filled with fear.

"Fuck off, Black."

His hand covered hers again in a soothing gesture, squeezing gently.

"Look at me, love."

Something in his voice made her open her eyes.

Sirius looked at her over his shoulder; the loose hair strands that slipped from his bun danced wildly around his face. His eyes were warm, and a light smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He squeezed her hands again.

"There she is." he teased making her huff shakily. Her eyes didn't leave his even for a moment, refusing to acknowledge that they were probably at least hundred feet above the ground, the only indication being the baby blue halo of the autumn sky around his head. "Relax, I've got you. I won't let you fall." he promised.

She nodded carefully, relaxing her shoulders and lifting her head a little. The wind caressed her face when she turned towards the sky taking in the view before them.

They were over the Hogwarts grounds. Hogsmeade stretched beneath them like colourful patchwork; the smoke rose from countless chimneys and people looked like ants scattered on the ground.

The Forbidden Forest stretched to the horizon with an impenetrable, dark mass. Mia thought, she saw a bony, black silhouette resembling a horse floating above the sea of trees for a moment, then plunge back to earth.

Sirius didn't seem to notice it, looking toward the castle. His face was filled with such longing that she almost felt his heartache.

The castle's turrets shone faintly.

The lake flickered with thousands of tiny waves.

The air caressed her face bringing the bittersweet aroma of falling leaves and smoke.

She felt herself relax a little more and take in the view around. She still didn't dare to look down, sure that her fear would kick in the moment she did. So she just let herself enjoy the longest flight she ever managed to pull off without an accident.

Sirius was looking at her with the same light smile. She felt a very unwelcome blush on her face.

There was something new in the rich palette of emotions she slowly learned to read from his eyes. Something she couldn't quite pin down.

"What are you looking at?" she asked quickly looking away.

"Just..." he started but then shrugged with a breathy chuckle. "Nothing." he turned a little more towards her. "Up for a little longer ride?"

She nodded but then added in a stern tone:

"But no barrel rolls. And don't go fast or I'll puke all over your back. And that would be a waste of very nice jacket." Mia wanted to shake her finger at him but then she remembered that they are definitely too high, so she just glared at him and gripped him harder.

Sirius rolled his eyes grinning.

"Believe me, this jacket had seen so much puke already." he laughed at the disgusted face she made. "Hold tight doll!"

"SIRIUS DON'T!"

Any threats she had on her mind died with the rush of air and the scream that left her lungs.


End file.
